COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council House Transfers

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department has set aside for gap funding for large-scale voluntary housing transfers in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10; how many applications have been made in 2008-09 to date; and by which authorities and for how much in each case.

Iain Wright: We expect that gap funding grant payments of up to £120 million will be made to registered social landlords (RSLs) in support of large scale voluntary transfers in 2008-09. Gap funding grant letters for 2009-10 have yet to be issued, and there are a number of schemes that require a review to take place in accordance with gap funding grant terms. The outcome of these will determine the amount required to be set aside.
	There have been no new housing transfer applications requiring gap funding from local authorities in 2008-09.

Eco-Towns: Essex

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the effect on the regeneration plans at Harlow of building a proposed eco-town at north-east Elsenham;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the effect on local emissions levels of developing an eco-town at north-east Elsenham.

Iain Wright: As set out in the written statement on eco-towns on 4 November 2008,  Official Report, column 10WS, we have published an 'Eco-towns Sustainability Report' (SA). This has been carried out by Scott Wilson and evaluates the likely impact of proposals, including north-east Elsenham, on the environment, local economy and community. Copies of the SA will be deposited in the House Library shortly and are available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingsupply/ecotowns/
	For each location we are considering whether any further issues need to be evaluated at the strategic level as part of the Stage 2 consultation, which runs until 19 February 2009.

Homelessness

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many rough sleepers there were estimated to be in England in each year since 1990.

Iain Wright: Annual rough sleeping figures have been collected since 1998 and are shown in the following table. These show the significant reductions in rough sleeping over the past 10 years.
	
		
			  Rough sleepers in England 
			   Number 
			 1998 1,850 
			 1999 1,633 
			 2000 1,180 
			 2001 703 
			 2002 596 
			 2003 504 
			 2004 508 
			 2005 459 
			 2006 502 
			 2007 498 
			 2008 483

Housing Companies

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local housing companies there are; where each is established; how many houses each has built to date; how many each plans to build; and in each case what proportion of the total will be available for rent.

Iain Wright: The local housing company (LHC) model is being developed through the pilot programme of 14 local authorities, which is being led by English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency. The pilots are based in Leeds, Sheffield, Wakefield, Nottingham, Newcastle, Sunderland, Dacorum, Harlow, Peterborough, Bristol, Plymouth, Wolverhampton, Manchester and Barking and Dagenham.
	The programme will provide the basis for assessing the scope for individual local authorities to set up LHCs, as well as the range of benefits that they may be able to secure for their local communities, such as increased housing provision across a range of tenures and wider regeneration benefits. We anticipate that the first LHC will be established as a result of the programme in the near future.

Housing: Construction

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the cost to  (a) local authorities and  (b) registered social landlords of building housing for rent; and what estimate she has made of the cost of borrowing to finance such building in each case.

Iain Wright: Through the Housing Corporation's affordable housing programme for 2007-08 the average total scheme cost was £150,200 for a social rented unit of which £59,700 was social housing grant. The remainder of the total cost is generally covered by borrowing or through registered social landlords' own resources. We have made no estimates on the costs of borrowing to finance the building of these homes.
	We hold no central records on costs of building social rented homes by local authorities or on estimates of borrowing costs.

Housing: Construction

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new build homes were constructed by arm's length management organisations in each year since 2001.

Iain Wright: Records are held of local authority new build homes but not those built by their arms length management organisations.

Housing: Construction

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new build homes were constructed by registered social landlords in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: The following table shows the number of new affordable homes built in England by registered social landlords (RSLs) for each year since 1997-98. The figures include social rent and intermediate affordable new build homes; they exclude acquisitions.
	
		
			  New homes built by registered social landlords in England 
			   New homes built by RSLs 
			 1997-98 27,890 
			 1998-99 26,360 
			 1999-2000 22,260 
			 2000-01 19,560 
			 2001-02 19,550 
			 2002-03 18,920 
			 2003-04 20,580 
			 2004-05 23,500 
			 2005-06 28,470 
			 2006-07 30,690 
			  Source:  Housing Corporation Investment Management System (IMS). 
		
	
	Not all RSL housing is provided by new build completions as some supply can come from acquisitions. In 2006-07, an additional 5,500 RSL homes in England were provided by acquisitions which are not included in the aforementioned figure.

Housing: Construction

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new build homes constructed by registered social landlords were made available for rental by social tenants in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: The following table shows the number of new social rented homes built in England by registered social landlords (RSLs) each year since 1997-98. The figures exclude acquisitions.
	
		
			  New homes built for social rent by registered social landlords in England 
			   New homes built by RSLs for social rent 
			 1997-98 23,690 
			 1998-99 22,430 
			 1999-2000 19,520 
			 2000-01 17,300 
			 2001-02 17,510 
			 2002-03 16,590 
			 2003-04 16,600 
			 2004-05 16,830 
			 2005-06 18,350 
			 2006-07 19,080 
			  Source:  Housing Corporation Investment Management System (IMS) 
		
	
	Not all RSL social rented housing is provided by new build completions as some supply can come from acquisitions. In 2006-07, an additional 2,360 social rented homes in England were provided by RSL acquisitions which are not included in the aforementioned figure.

Housing: Low Incomes

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of households are in  (a) social housing and  (b) the private rented sector in each of the principal seaside towns in England.

Iain Wright: Table 19 on page 50 of the report 'England's Seaside Towns—A Benchmarking Study', published by CLG in early November, shows the percentage of households that were in  (a) social housing and  (b) the private rented sector in each of the 37 principal seaside towns in England in 2001. This is the most up to date information on housing tenure for the seaside towns. The report can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/citiesandregions/englishseasidetowns.
	A copy of the table follows for information.
	
		
			  Table 19: Tenure in England's principal seaside towns, 2001 (ranked by owner occupation rate) 
			  Percentage of households 
			   Owner -occupiers  Social rented  Private rented sector 
			 Whitley Bay 84 9 7 
			 Sidmouth 81 10 9 
			 Whitstable/Herne Bay 80 8 12 
			 Southport 79 8 14 
			 Clacton 79 9 13 
			 Greater Worthing 78 10 12 
			 Burnham-on-Sea 78 11 11 
			 Isle of Wight 77 10 13 
			 Swanage 76 11 13 
			 Exmouth 76 11 13 
			 Greater Blackpool 75 9 16 
			 Bognor Regis 75 10 15 
			 Deal 75 12 13 
			 Greater Bournemouth 74 11 15 
			 Dawlish/Teignmouth 74 9 17 
			 Minehead 74 12 13 
			 Torbay 74 8 18 
			 Weymouth 73 13 14 
			 St Ives 73 11 15 
			 Southend-on-Sea 73 12 15 
			 Weston-super-Mare 73 12 16 
			 Morecambe/Heysham 73 8 20 
			 Newquay 71 10 19 
			 Lowestoft 70 16 14 
			 Thanet 70 13 17 
			 Bridlington 69 14 17 
			 Hastings/Bexhill 69 14 18 
			 Eastbourne 69 16 16 
			 Folkestone/Hythe 68 14 19 
			 Falmouth 67 15 18 
			 Whitby 66 18 16 
			 Scarborough 66 15 19 
			 Ilfracombe 66 11 23 
			 Greater Brighton 63 15 22 
			 Penzance 62 18 20 
			 Skegness 62 15 23 
			 Great Yarmouth 62 24 15 
			 Seaside towns 72 12 16 
			 North East 64 28 9 
			 North West 69 20 11 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 68 21 11 
			 East Midlands 72 18 10 
			 West Midlands 70 21 10 
			 East 73 17 11 
			 London 57 26 17 
			 South East 74 14 12 
			 South West 73 14 13 
			 England 69 19 12 
			  Source: Census of Population

Housing: Low Incomes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether  (a) HM Revenue and Customs and  (b) the Valuation Office Agency (i) have and (ii) will have access to data from the National Register of Social Housing.

Iain Wright: Neither HM Revenue and Customs nor the Valuation Office Agency currently have access to data from the National Register of Social Housing (NROSH). Any request for access to NROSH from a Government Department would be considered on its specific and individual merits.

Multiple Occupation: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many conversions from houses of multiple occupation to flats have taken place in each of the 37 principal seaside towns in England in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: The information requested is not held centrally.

JUSTICE

Community Orders

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many community sentences have been completed in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: The following table shows the number of community sentences that terminated in England and Wales for 2005-07. It also provides the percentage split for the reason of termination, including the percentage that completed successfully (those that ran their full course and that terminated early for good progress).
	The improvement in positive terminations for non-community orders reflects the fact that these are pre-Criminal Justice Act 2003 sentences and were only given for offences committed before 4 April 2005. Negative terminations tend to occur earlier in the life of an order, leaving a higher proportion of these orders to terminate successfully over the course of time.
	The information contained in this table can be found in chapter 5 of Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2007 located online at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonandprobation.htm
	
		
			  Terminations of community sentences by reason, England and Wales 
			  Number of persons and percentages 
			   2005  2006  2007 
			  Community order
			 Ran their full course (1)— 39 47 
			 Terminated early for:
			 Good progress (1)— 13 10 
			 Failure to comply with requirements (1)— 24 22 
			 Conviction of an offence (1)— 14 12 
			 Other reasons (1)— 10 10 
			 All community orders (=100%) (number) (1)— 70,577 113,829 
			 
			  Drug treatment and testing order
			 Ran their full course 32 50 59 
			 Replaced by conditional discharge order 0 0 0 
			 Terminated early for:
			 Good progress 7 9 8 
			 Failure to comply with requirements 23 19 17 
			 Conviction of an offence 33 18 12 
			 Other reasons 6 5 4 
			 All DTTOs (=100%) (number) 8,088 3,992 630 
			 
			  Community rehabilitation order
			 Ran their full course 58 69 77 
			 Replaced by conditional discharge order 1 1 0 
			 Terminated early for:
			 Good progress 10 8 6 
			 Failure to comply with requirements 8 7 6 
			 Conviction of offence 19 11 6 
			 Other reasons 5 4 4 
			 All CROs (=100%) (number) 50,745 31,216 9,380 
			 
			  Community rehabilitation order element of community punishment and rehabilitation order
			 Ran their full course 45 59 65 
			 Replaced by conditional discharge order 1 0 0 
			 Terminated early for:
			 Good progress 12 11 6 
			 Failure to comply with requirements 13 10 12 
			 Conviction of offence 23 14 10 
			 Other reasons 6 5 7 
			 All CPROs =100%) (number) 12,607 9,000 3,171 
			 
			  Community punishment order
			 Specified hours completed 68 62 46 
			 Failure to comply with requirements 11 14 21 
			 Conviction of an offence 11 12 10 
			 Other change in circumstances 3 3 3 
			 Warrant unexecuted 2 3 5 
			 Other reason 5 6 16 
			 All CPOs (=100%) (number) 49,081 23,762 9,967 
			 
			  Community punishment order element of community punishment and rehabilitation order
			 Specified hours completed 60 54 40 
			 Failure to comply with requirements 13 15 20 
			 Conviction of an offence 18 18 14 
			 Other change in circumstances 3 4 3 
			 Warrant unexecuted 2 2 3 
			 Other reason 5 7 19 
			 All CPROs(=100%) (number) 13,919 6,288 2,510 
			 (1) Community orders that commenced in 2005 had not had sufficient time to terminate normally since they were only introduced on 4 April 2005.  Note: The figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Departmental Information Officers

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on salaries for press and communications officers in  (a) his Department,  (b) its non-departmental public bodies and  (c) its agencies in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	Press and communications officers cover a wide range of tasks including internal communications, intranet and internet operations, event organisation, marketing, publication production and stakeholder relations.
	
		
			  Ministry of Justice spend on salaries for press and communications officers in the last three years 
			  £ 
			   Communications officers  Press officers  Total 
			  2005-06
			 Ministry of Justice HQ (1)— (1)— (1)2,626,355.00 
			 HMCS (1)— (1)— (1)217,420.90 
			 OPG (1)— (1)— (1)139,662.29 
			 National Archives 104,306.00 130,250.00 234,556.00 
			 Tribunals(2) n/a n/a — 
			 Boundary Commission for England(3) — — — 
			 Boundary Commission for Wales(3) — — — 
			 JAC(4) — — — 
			 JCO(2) n/a n/a — 
			 LSC 678,410.80 132,797.41 811,208.21 
			 Land Registry 453,013.00 95,310.00 548,323.00 
			 
			  2006-07
			 Ministry of Justice HQ 1,736,925.00 723,488.00 2,520,413.00 
			 HMCS 400,527.39 112,492.00 513,019.39 
			 OPG (1)— (1)— (1)167,863.53 
			 National Archives 184,966.00 139,325.00 324,291.00 
			 Tribunals 210,009.70 37,415.74 247,425.44 
			 Boundary Commission for England(3) — — — 
			 Boundary Commission for Wales(3) — — — 
			 JAC(4) — — — 
			 JCO 198,332.12 95,715.23 294,047.35 
			 LSC 628,223.17 164,631.60 792,854.77 
			 Land Registry 451,883.00 110,993.00 562,876.00 
			 
			  2007-08
			 Ministry of Justice HQ 2,286,346.00 1,560,439.00 3,846,785.00 
			 HMCS 438,671.88 158,653.00 597,324.88 
			 OPG (1)— (1)— (1)173,205.50 
			 National Archives 166,115.00 135,398.75 301,513.75 
			 Tribunals 190,223.24 55,455.34 245,678.58 
			 Boundary Commission for England(3) — — — 
			 Boundary Commission for Wales(3) — — — 
			 JAC(4) — — — 
			 JCO 211,776.20 107,582.31 319,358.51 
			 LSC 668,696.22 175,230.95 844,92717 
			 Land Registry 481,017.00 99,994.00 581,011.00 
			 (1) Joint budget (2) Formed in April 2006 (3) No press office and all queries are dealt with by its secretariat (4 )No dedicated resource

Electoral Commission: Powers of Entry

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the Electoral Commission will be required to give prior notice in order to use the proposed new powers of entry contained in the Political Parties and Elections Bill.

Jack Straw: The Political Parties and Elections Bill provides two powers for the Electoral Commission to enter premises. The first power is contained in paragraph 1(5) of schedule 1 to the Bill, and replicates, with one important change, the existing power in section 146(3) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. This provides that, at any reasonable time, the Commission may enter premises for the purposes of carrying out its functions. Having entered under the power, the Commission may inspect documents relating to the income and expenditure of the individual or organisation whose premises the Commission has entered. It may also make copies.
	The existing power in section 146(3) enables the Commission only to enter the premises of registered political parties, recognised third parties who campaign in elections, and permitted participants who campaign in referendums. In addition to these categories of people, paragraph 1(5) will allow the same power also to be used in relation to regulated donees (including MPs, candidates and their election agents).
	Paragraph 3 of schedule 1 to the Bill provides that the Electoral Commission may apply to a justice of the peace for a warrant to enter premises. In order to obtain a warrant the Commission must demonstrate, on oath, to a justice of the peace that there are reasonable grounds for believing that a person has committed an offence or contravened a restriction or requirement and that an earlier request for documents has been made and not complied with. If these requirements are satisfied a justice of the peace can issue a warrant allowing a constable, together with any other person named in the warrant, to enter premises. Such a warrant may authorise the use of reasonable force, the searching of premises and taking of documents and may require a person named in the warrant to provide an explanation about any of the documents that are the object of the search.
	No prior notification of the Commission's intention to enter premises would be required. The person would be notified at the time of the Commission's entry to the premises.
	As my right hon. Friend the Member for North Swindon (Mr. Wills) and I have made clear, we have heard the force of opinion in the House on the issue of the Commission's powers and we have proposed measures to address these concerns for debate at Committee stage on 11 November.

HM Courts Service: Per Capita Costs

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 28 October 2008,  Official Report, column 849W, on the Courts Service, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of 5,800 hours of court time at 2008 prices.

Bridget Prentice: The cost to the public purse of 5,800 hours of court time is estimated to be approximately £1,700,000. This is based on current costings for court time in the magistrates courts.

Legal Aid

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average processing time for legal aid applications was  (a) in total and  (b) in each of the smallest geographical areas for which information is available in each quarter of each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The information in the following tables shows the average time taken to process applications in working days.
	For civil legal aid, the figures include the overall average time to process civil applications from the point of receipt to final decision. This time will include any appeal activity in the event of any refused applications. It will also include time taken to deal with any pre-certificate representations and/or the involvement of the LSC's Special Investigations Unit should the applicant be listed as the director of a company or their means assessment be particularly complex.
	For criminal legal aid, the figures include the average time taken by the LSC itself to process applications and the time taken by Her Majesty's Court Service (HMCS) to process applications for legal aid in the magistrates courts on behalf of the LSC under a service level agreement.
	The average number of days to process applications for civil legal aid in England and Wales overall, for each quarter of the most recent years for which information is available, is shown in table 1 as follows. This includes applications for a legal aid certificate only. Applications for legal help are considered by the service provider. The average processing time for applications for legal help is not recorded centrally.
	
		
			  Table 1: The average number of days taken by the LSC to process applications for civil legal aid certificates in the most recent periods for which information is available 
			   April to June  July to September  October to December  January to March 
			 2003-04 7.4 8.2 7.7 8.1 
			 2004-05 9.3 8.6 8.4 8.1 
			 2005-06 8.5 5.8 4.6 4.5 
			 2006-07 4.8 6.3 8.3 5.5 
			 2007-08 6.5 5.8 6.7 7.4 
		
	
	The average number of days taken to process applications for criminal legal aid is available only for applications made in the magistrates courts since the introduction of means testing in October 2006 and is shown in table 2 as follows.
	
		
			  Table 2: The average number of days taken by HMCS and the LSC to process applications for criminal legal aid in the magistrates courts for the most recent periods in which information is available 
			   April to June  July to September  October to December  January to March 
			 2004-05 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2005-06 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2006-07 n/a n/a 3.1 2.6 
			 2007-08 2.8 2.4 2.7 1.8 
			 2008-09 1.6 1.5 n/a n/a 
		
	
	LSC bid zones are the smallest geographical areas by which the average number of days taken to process applications for civil legal aid for each quarter of the most recent years for which information is available and is shown in table 3, which has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	Individual magistrates courts are smallest areas by which the average number of days taken to process criminal legal aid applications is available. The average time taken to process the applications for each quarter available since means testing was introduced in October 2006 is in table 4, which has also been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	There are a small number of irregular figures contained within the tables. This could be for reasons such as one-off human error or where the application received data links back to a reopened case. These anomalous entries do not have a significant effect on the data overall and have been included for the sake of completeness.

Penalty Notices: Shoplifting

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many penalty notices for disorder were issued for shoplifting in the latest period for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: The number of persons aged 16 and over, issued with PND for shoplifting (of goods up to a value of £200), from 2004 to 2006 in England and Wales can be viewed in the following table. Data for 2007 will be available at the end of November 2008. The offence of theft (retail) was added to the PND Scheme in November 2004.
	
		
			  Number of persons aged 16 and over, issued with a penalty notice for disorder for the offence theft (retail under £200), in England and Wales, 2004 to 2006( 1, 2, 3) 
			   Theft (retail under £200) 
			 2004 2,072 
			 2005 21,997 
			 2006 38,772 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (2) Offence is a notifiable offence included within OBTJ figures. (3) The offence of theft (retail) was added to the PND Scheme in November 2004.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform: Evidence and Analysis Unit.

Prince Charles: Marriage

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library the background legal advice given to the former Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, in respect of the application of the Marriage Act 1949 to the marriage arrangements of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles.

Jack Straw: The advice in question is subject to legal professional privilege. On 24 February 2005,  Official Report,  House of  Lords, columns WS87-88, the then Lord Chancellor made a written statement on the Government's view of the lawfulness of the marriage between HRH the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Prison Service: Cost Effectiveness

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what cashable efficiency savings HM Prison Service was required to make in the financial year 2007-08;
	(2)  what cashable efficiency savings were made by HM Prison Service in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what cashable efficiency savings HM Prison Service made in 2006-07; and from what areas these savings were delivered.

Jack Straw: HM Prison Service delivered cash savings of £16 million during 2006-07. This was achieved through the merger of administrative functions at a new shared service centre in Newport South Wales, improvement in the level of professional expertise in procurement activities and also consolidating national procurement contracts. Additionally, the Prison Service delivered improvements in energy efficiency and waste management and produced savings from headquarters.
	During 2007-08 HM Prison Service delivered cashable efficiencies of £52 million against a target for the year of £50 million. The cashable efficiencies delivered by HM Prison Service each year for the past five financial years are:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2007-08 52 
			 2006-07 16 
			 2005-06 30 
			 2004-05 34 
			 2003-04 38

Prison Service: Manpower

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many posts in the Prison Service there are; and what projection he has made of the number of jobs in the service in 2011;
	(2)  how many posts in the Probation Service there are; and what projections he has made of the number of jobs in the service in 2011.

David Hanson: There is currently a requirement across the Prison Service, including vacancies, for 53,717 posts. This figure does not include the National Offender Management Service headquarters. Projections for 2011 are under consideration.
	The National Probation Service comprises 42 boards and trusts each of which functions as a separate employer. Employment data is supplied to NOMS in the form of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff and vacancies rather than posts since this is considered to be the most accurate workforce measure. The latest available figures show there were 20,894 FTE staff in post in the National Probation Service on 31 December 2007. In addition, there were 343.11 FTE vacancies. These figures do not include the National Offender Management Service headquarters.
	NOMS is currently rolling out an IT based HR Data Warehouse to the 42 probation boards and trusts. When this is fully implemented early in 2009, NOMS will be in a position to collate FTE workforce information on a monthly basis.
	Projections of staffing requirements for 2011 will be determined by the individual probation boards and trusts based on local workforce requirements and available resources. Efficiency initiatives will impact by the year 2011, however it is too early to project accurate figures.

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoner on staff attacks there have been at each prison in each of the last five years.

Shahid Malik: Table 1 shows incidents of prisoner on staff assaults in each of the last five years by prison.
	The information set out is subject to important qualifications. The NOMS Incident Reporting System processes high volumes of data which are constantly being updated. The numbers provide a good indication of overall numbers but should not be interpreted as absolute.
	Assault information is recorded at establishment level in four categories: prisoner on prisoner, prisoner on officer, prisoner on other and other (which may include non-prisoner perpetrators). The recorded incidents of assaults on prison officers are not completely exclusive to officers; establishment recording sometimes includes assaults on other prison staff in this category. Rises or falls in reported numbers from one year to the next are not a good indicator of an underlying trend for a particular prison. Additionally there have been improvements in reporting over the years, and this is reflected in the tables.
	Assault data are complex and the numbers need to be interpreted with caution. Information recorded as assault incidents may involve one or many prisoners as some assault incidents may involve more than one assailant or more than one victim. Additionally in a proportion of incidents only the victim is known.
	The numbers supplied refer to the number of individual assault incidents. The numbers refer to all incidents recorded as assaults; these may also include threatening behaviour, projection of bodily fluids and other non-contact events and allegations.
	The category "Prisoner on Other" contains few entries but these may include prison staff as well as visitors, legal visitors, etc. For the purpose of this response the categories "Prisoner on Officer" and "Prisoner on Other" are used.
	Ministers, NOMS and the Prison Officers' Association are collectively committed to ensuring that violence in prisons is not tolerated in any form. Since 2004, a national strategy has directed every public sector prison to have in place a local violence reduction strategy and since mid 2007 this has been applied to the public and contracted out estate. A whole prison approach is encouraged, engaging all staff, all disciplines and prisoners in challenging unacceptable behaviour, problem-solving and personal safety.
	
		
			  Table 1: Prisoner on staff assaults 
			  Prison name  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007( 1) 
			 Acklington 3 3 5 8 9 
			 Albany 3 — — 3 n/a 
			 Altcourse 48 51 47 39 53 
			 Ashfield 70 90 180 136 100 
			 Ashwell 1 — — 5 3 
			 Aylesbury 15 6 17 18 14 
			 Bedford 14 11 15 31 13 
			 Belmarsh 52 43 35 22 22 
			 Birmingham 59 85 99 81 78 
			 Blakenhurst 27 56 46 34 38 
			 Blundeston 3 4 7 7 1 
			 Brinsford 39 34 19 10 17 
			 Bristol 26 48 28 41 15 
			 Brixton 52 72 50 37 41 
			 Brockhill 6 10 14 9 3 
			 Bronzefield — 20 87 81 43 
			 Buckley Hall 38 19 25 14 11 
			 Bullingdon 23 16 17 23 24 
			 Bullwood Hall 1 — 9 6 3 
			 Camphill 13 9 12 5 n/a 
			 Canterbury 9 4 4 3 4 
			 Cardiff 11 16 19 14 6 
			 Castington 56 57 50 46 46 
			 Channings Wood 4 10 10 8 16 
			 Chelmsford 16 22 37 53 21 
			 Coldingley 1 — 1 3 8 
			 Cookham Wood 14 5 3 1 2 
			 Dartmoor 9 5 12 7 10 
			 Deerbolt 6 28 33 22 34 
			 Doncaster 28 23 26 47 29 
			 Dorchester 4 2 10 9 9 
			 Dovegate 48 80 35 59 43 
			 Downview 6 8 29 9 12 
			 Drake Hall — — 1 1  
			 Durham 34 31 42 46 58 
			 East Sutton Park 1 1 — — — 
			 Eastwood Park 13 7 21 28 8 
			 Edmunds Hill 9 23 9 13 2 
			 Elmley 25 21 30 17 28 
			 Erlestoke — 2 2 2 10 
			 Everthorpe 2 2 10 14 13 
			 Exeter 12 3 7 12 9 
			 Featherstone 8 21 8 9 17 
			 Feltham 103 173 138 118 107 
			 Ford 3 7 5 3 4 
			 Forest Bank 63 78 88 54 34 
			 Foston Hall 18 8 13 28 27 
			 Frankland 5 15 12 10 21 
			 Full Sutton 13 12 17 14 9 
			 Garth 11 5 7 9 9 
			 Gartree — 1 2 3 1 
			 Glen Parva 29 39 31 45 56 
			 Gloucester 17 6 13 15 6 
			 Grendon/Spring Hill — — — — 1 
			 Guys Marsh 6 5 3 14 16 
			 Haverigg 7 2 1 5 18 
			 Hewell Grange — — 2 — 1 
			 High Down 51 59 40 71 67 
			 Highpoint 22 19 16 23 22 
			 Hindley 27 14 32 58 48 
			 Hollesley Bay 4 3 — 1 — 
			 Holloway 104 108 89 111 104 
			 Holme House 21 19 27 24 20 
			 Hull 32 30 33 25 33 
			 Huntercombe 19 15 15 33 24 
			 Kingston 1 — 2 2 — 
			 Kirkham — 1 — — 2 
			 Lancaster — 3 1 2 1 
			 Lancaster Farms 9 28 47 56 39 
			 Leeds 79 40 36 17 18 
			 Leicester 11 6 7 18 7 
			 Lewes 22 11 21 17 17 
			 Leyhill — 1 1 — 3 
			 Lincoln 12 23 22 15 23 
			 Lindholme 19 6 13 13 20 
			 Littlehey 13 10 10 5 4 
			 Liverpool 46 38 24 21 31 
			 Long Lartin 5 5 15 12 15 
			 Low Newton 16 27 31 21 20 
			 Lowdham Grange 5 13 17 36 39 
			 Maidstone 6 5 1 — 5 
			 Manchester 61 63 73 65 78 
			 Moorland 22 13 20 16 15 
			 Morton Hall 1 3 3 5 1 
			 Mount 13 8 12 15 21 
			 New Hall 23 19 29 60 48 
			 North Sea Camp 2 1 — — 1 
			 Northallerton 19 22 14 9 8 
			 Norwich 25 18 18 18 1 
			 Nottingham 16 33 15 25 47 
			 Onley 98 15 29 32 25 
			 Parc 59 61 50 51 53 
			 Parkhurst 18 15 16 3 n/a 
			 Pentonville 91 97 123 61 69 
			 Peterborough — — 75 141 115 
			 Portland 16 39 40 42 39 
			 Preston 11 18 25 29 45 
			 Ranby 9 3 3 17 17 
			 Reading 7 16 16 12 9 
			 Risley 19 27 32 29 23 
			 Rochester 16 18 23 13 4 
			 Rye Hill 21 39 65 48 43 
			 Send 4 — 2 3 1 
			 Shepton Mallet 1 — 1 — 2 
			 Shrewsbury 14 5 4 7 7 
			 Stafford 13 7 13 14 10 
			 Standford Hill — — — 1 1 
			 Stocken 10 8 12 7 9 
			 Stoke Heath 20 39 56 69 76 
			 Styal 7 12 13 32 46 
			 Sudbury 2 — 1 1 — 
			 Swaleside 17 16 9 11 8 
			 Swansea 8 4 4 6 — 
			 Swinfen Hall 9 4 10 10 9 
			 Thorn Cross 4 1 1 4 1 
			 Usk/Prescoed — — — 1 1 
			 Verne 1 6 4 — — 
			 Wakefield 8 8 9 8 15 
			 Wandsworth 78 86 87 38 36 
			 Warren Hill 12 21 34 42 50 
			 Wayland 11 9 3 9 10 
			 Wealstun 2 — 3 2 6 
			 Weare 11 6 4 — — 
			 Wellingborough 1 2 16 14 5 
			 Werrington 24 19 19 22 12 
			 Wetherby 14 77 72 60 37 
			 Whatton 1 1 — 4 12 
			 Whitemoor 15 16 19 11 22 
			 Winchester 13 15 12 10 4 
			 Wolds 8 13 4 9 3 
			 Woodhill 36 39 71 68 52 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 40 74 60 58 70 
			 Wymott 2 — 4 4 4 
			 Total 2,541 2,799 3,171 3,148 2,916 
			 (1) The 2007 figures do not include the three prisons Albany, Camphill and Parkhurst where the incident recording has transferred to the NOMIS system.

Reoffenders

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the reconviction rate was for offenders attending accredited programmes in  (a) the community and  (b) prisons in the latest period for which information is available.

David Hanson: There are positive indications that accredited programmes may be effective in reducing re-offending for offenders in the community. The re-offending rate for all offenders who had undertaken interventions was 55 per cent., based on a two-year reconviction rate. Programme completers did statistically significantly better than those who did not start or who dropped out of programmes. The rates were 38 per cent., 61 per cent. and 64 per cent. respectively.
	A recent prison-based study showed that the one-year reconviction rate for both adult men and young offenders who had completed enhanced thinking skills (ETS) and reasoning and rehabilitation (R+R) interventions in prison represented a positive 2.5 percentage points difference in reconviction for adult male completers (17.0 per cent. vs. 19.5 per cent.) and a 4.1 percentage point difference for young offender completers (31.4 per cent. vs. 35.5 per cent.) compared to matched comparison groups. There was no difference in reconviction rates between programme starters and comparison groups. See tables 3 and 4:
	www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/r226.pdf

Whitemoor Prison

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations the governor of HMP Whitemoor has received on staff morale in the last three months.

Shahid Malik: No representations have been received on staff morale in the last three months by the governor of Whitemoor.

Whitemoor Prison: Islam

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what arrangements there are for  (a) searching and  (b) questioning those visiting Muslim prisoners at HMP Whitemoor.

Shahid Malik: All visitors to Whitemoor are searched on entering the prison to ensure that unauthorised items are not being brought in. In conducting searches, staff are aware of religious and cultural issues and make special arrangements to accommodate these, while not compromising security. All visitors are required to confirm their identity.

Whitemoor Prison: Islam

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what arrangements are in place for the accommodation of Muslim prisoners at HMP Whitemoor; and what the policy of HM Prison Service is on accommodating Muslim prisoners in specific wings of the prison.

Shahid Malik: The allocation of prisoners at Whitemoor follows a careful risk assessment, taking into account individual needs, matters such as safety and security, as well as the availability of accommodation. Prison Service policy is for prisoners to be allocated to prisons appropriate to their security category; safety and security; individual needs in respect of sentence planning; as well as taking into account matters such as the continuation of family contact. It is not policy to locate prisoners in particular prisons or any part of a prison on the grounds of religion.

OLYMPICS

Olympic Games 2012: Contracts

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what the procedure is for allocating landscaping contracts for the Olympic games 2012 site.

Tessa Jowell: Landscaping contracts are the responsibility of the Olympic Delivery Authority and are awarded following a competitive tendering process. The Authority is a public body whose procurements are subject to the Public Contracts Regulations.

Olympic Games 2012: Health

Michael Penning: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what research she has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on schemes to ensure a legacy of health improvement from the London 2012 Olympic games.

Tessa Jowell: An assessment of the potential health benefits of staging the 2012 Games in London was carried out in 2004 on behalf of the London Health Commission and the London Sustainable Development commission. The report is available at
	http://www.londonshealth.gov.uk/PDF/Olympic_HIA.pdf
	I am arranging for the report to be deposited in the Libraries of the House.
	The Department of Health regional teams have commissioned Canterbury Christ Church university to conduct a systematic review to assess the potential for the games to improve public health. Findings from the research will inform the development of the wider health legacy.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Conditions of Employment

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of those working in his Department  (a) are on a flexible working contract,  (b) are on a job share employment contract and  (c) work from home for more than four hours a week.

Ann McKechin: All staff in the Scotland Office are on loan from the Scottish Executive or the Ministry of Justice. Any member of staff can request a change to their working pattern and line managers consider requests in line with the policy and guidance of the parent Department.
	Staff below the senior civil service (94 per cent.) can work to a flexi-time agreement and local records are kept of hours worked; 6 per cent. of all staff work part-time; and 6 per cent. work compressed hours. No staff work on job share or work from home for more than four hours per week.

Departmental ICT

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many  (a) memory sticks,  (b) laptop computers,  (c) desktop computers,  (d) hard drives and  (e) mobile telephones were (i) lost by and (ii) stolen from his Department in each year since 1997.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. The Office has no recorded losses of memory sticks, hard drives or desktop computers; the following have been reported as lost or stolen:
	
		
			   Item  Lost  Stolen 
			 1999-2000 Laptop — Yes 
			 2000-01 None — — 
			 2001-02 None — — 
			 2002-03 Mobile Phone Yes — 
			 2003-04 None — — 
			 2004-05 None — — 
			 2005-06 BlackBerry Yes — 
			 2006-07 Mobile Phone Yes — 
			  BlackBerry Yes — 
			 2007-08 None — —

Departmental Procurement

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of invoices for goods and services procured from small and medium-sized businesses were paid within 30 days of receipt by  (a) his Department and  (b) the agencies for which his Department is responsible in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office is unable to distinguish between different sizes of business in the payment records; the size of a business does not influence the payment process. As indicated in its annual report, in 2007-08, the Office paid 99.53 per cent. of its invoices within 30 days. The Office welcomes the recent announcement by the Prime Minister that the Government should aim to pay invoices within 10 days and is working towards this target.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Members: Correspondence

Ben Wallace: To ask the Solicitor-General when the Attorney-General plans to respond to the letter of 26 August 2008 from the hon. Member for Lancaster and Wyre on threat assessment documents allegedly left on a train.

Vera Baird: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 6 November 2008.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Departmental Internet

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality for which Government websites the Government's Equalities Office is responsible; how many visitors each received in the last period for which figures are available; and what the cost of maintaining each site was in that period.

Maria Eagle: The Government Equalities Office is responsible for one website:
	www.equalities.gov.uk.
	Since January 2008, it has received a total of 22,783 unique visitors. The cost of maintaining this site since January was £891.83, which includes web hosting and design changes.

TRANSPORT

Aviation

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what guidance he has issued to National Air Traffic Services on the use of continuous descent approach (CDA) for aircraft landing at  (a) Heathrow and  (b) all designated UK airports, with regard to (i) the distance from the airport at which CDA begins and (ii) the altitude at which CDA begins;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of aircraft using the continuous descent approach at  (a) Heathrow and  (b) all designated UK airports in each of the last four years;
	(3)  what assessment his Department has made of the use of the continuous descent approach (CDA) at  (a) Heathrow and  (b) all designated UK airports, with particular reference to (i) the distance from the airport at which CDA begins and (ii) the altitude at which CDA begins.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Aircraft landing at Heathrow have been required for a number of years, wherever practicable, to operate a continuous descent approach (CDA).
	This is in line with the Government's policy of encouraging, together with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and NATS, the use of CDA, where airspace and safety considerations allow. The procedure seeks to reduce the noise of arriving aircraft by ensuring that aircraft remain as high as possible for as long as possible and that segments of level flight during descent, which increase engine noise, are avoided. Guidance in the form of an arrivals code of practice on the use of CDA, developed in partnership with the industry, was originally issued in February 2002. This guidance has been kept under review and a revised code was published in November 2006. The code can be accessed on the departmental website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/environmentalissues/arrivalscodeofpractice/arrivalscodeofpractice.
	The original focus of the arrivals code was to promote CDA at the three London designated airports (Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted). Following the successful implementation of the code at these airports, the code has been used by NATS as a basis to promote and encourage greater use of CDA at other airports nationally and internationally. However it has to be acknowledged that local operational circumstances and restraints can vary from airport to airport. CDAs are agreed by air traffic controllers and pilots on a flight-by-flight basis, according to weather and traffic conditions. In all cases, NATS' overriding consideration is the safe and efficient operation of air traffic control (ATC) operations.
	CDA performance and developments are monitored. Reports are regularly presented for review by the consultative and technical sub-committees at the three London designated airports Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. Current CDA performance consistently averages 80 per cent. throughout the 24-hour period of operation.

Aviation: Excise Duties

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the impact on the number of flights using UK airports following the introduction of aviation duty.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friends, the Members for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) and for Derby, North (Mr. Laxton) and to the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington (Mr. Leech) on 27 October 2008,  Official Report, column 789W.

Biofuels

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what evidence his Department has received on the incidence of bacterial contamination in biodiesel road transport fuels; if he will revise the renewable transport fuels obligation in the light of any evidence received; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what research his Department is carrying out into bacterial contamination of biodiesel fuels; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what advice his Department has issued, and to whom, on the prevention of bacterial contamination in biodiesel fuels.

Jim Fitzpatrick: It is well known that there is a greater tendency for bacterial growth in biodiesel compared to fossil diesel. Fuel suppliers are well aware of this issue and the importance of maintaining good housekeeping practices, such as the cleaning of fuel storage tanks and the use of bacterial growth inhibiting additives. The Department has not seen any evidence that bacterial growth is, in practice, creating fuel quality problems in the UK. The petroleum industry itself would have conducted the original research to develop effective additives and best housekeeping practice, and promulgates advice on this topic.

Birmingham International Airport

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has plans for the extension of the main runway at Birmingham International Airport to enable it to accommodate landing and take-off of Boeing 747s.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 11 November 2008
	 Birmingham International Airport submitted in January this year a planning application for a 405 metre extension to the existing runway, which would enable the airport to handle larger aircraft and access to more long haul destinations, including West Coast USA and the Far East.
	The application is currently being considered by Solihull metropolitan borough council. Department for Transport Ministers have a quasi-judicial role in the planning process with regard to transport-related applications raised on appeal. It could, therefore, be prejudicial to comment on matters that are subject to a planning application and may come before a planning inquiry.

Bus Services: Concessions

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee has consulted people with enduring mental health problems on access to free bus travel concessions.

Paul Clark: The Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee did not undertake formal consultation. However, the Committee is aware of the particular concerns of people with mental illness with regard to eligibility for concessionary travel and has been in correspondence with the Mental Health Action Group on this issue.

Cycling

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much he allocated to Cycling England for cycling programmes for  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09.

Paul Clark: We announced an award of £140 million to Cycling England in January this year to support local authorities and others to improve cycle provision. This raised Cycling England's budget from £10 million in 2007-08 to £20 million in 2008-09 and £60 million for each of the next two years.

Cycling

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information  (a) English local authorities outside London and  (b) Transport for London have provided to his Department about their expenditure on cycle facilities in (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08 and (iii) 2008-09.

Paul Clark: This information is no longer requested of local authorities by the Department. In 2006-07, the last year for which we can supply any information, local authorities' (outside of London) best estimate of expenditure on cycling was around £36 million. Spending on cycling in London for the same period was, I understand, around £25 million.

Cycling

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what lessons have been learned from the six cycling demonstration towns.

Paul Clark: The first six towns have demonstrated that while the level of investment is important, political leadership is equally vital in ensuring delivery of the right package of measures to enable cycling to take its place as a real option for many journeys. Effective links with wider policies such as the health agenda and integration with planning so that cycling is designed in from the start are also important. In just over two years cycling has increased in the towns by 25 per cent. on average.

Departmental Older Workers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people recruited by his Department in 2007-08 were aged over  (a) 55 years and  (b) 60 years; and what percentage this represented of the number of new recruits in each case.

Geoff Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 3 November 2008,  Official Report, column 42W.

Heathrow Airport: Carbon Emissions

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the additional average annual emissions arising from use of the third runway at Heathrow over the period 2020 to 2050.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Given present arrangements, the average additional annual carbon dioxide emissions arising from the use of additional capacity at Heathrow for the 60-year period 2020 to 2080 was set out in Annex B of the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport: Consultation Document, page 178. This was estimated at 3.0 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2) per year.
	This would mean that for the 30-year period 2020 to 2050, the average additional annual carbon dioxide emissions arising from the use of a third runway at Heathrow is 3.4 MtCO2, assuming no other changes.
	The Government are, however, strongly committed to achieving reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and aims to do so in the most effective way. This is why we have led the debate within Europe to include all flights arriving at and departing from EU airports in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012 onwards.

Newcastle International Airport Company

Peter Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what reports he has received on the liabilities incurred by each of the seven local authorities participating in Newcastle International Airport Company in respect of payments to former members of its management board; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport has received no such reports. These are matters for the local authorities concerned.

Official Cars

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what role Ministers in his Department had in shortlisting companies bidding to provide electric and low carbon vehicles to public bodies under the Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Ministers were not involved in decisions on the shortlisting of companies bidding to provide lower carbon and all-electric vans to the public sector under the Low Carbon Vehicle Public Procurement Programme.

Olympic Games: Road Closures

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his estimate is of the  (a) number of roads which will have to be closed and  (b) periods for which such a closure would take place during shooting events held at Woolwich Army base during the London 2012 Olympics.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Any measures required on the roads around Olympic venues during the Games will be designed, consulted on and delivered by the Olympic Delivery Authority following the designation next year of the Olympic Route Network (ORN): a network of roads that will connect competition and key non-competition venues and will be used to transport athletes, officials, accredited media and other key Olympic partners to and from venues. The Department for Transport will be consulting on the roads we propose to designate as part of the Olympic Route Network later this year.

Private Roads

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the Government's policy is on unadopted roads.

Paul Clark: Under the Highways Act 1980, local highway authorities may adopt roads that they are not currently responsible for maintaining; this is a matter for local decision. Adoption of highways brings with it liability for future maintenance including the provision of surface water drainage or street lighting, as well as claims arising from the condition of the street.
	The owners of properties on an unadopted road are responsible for its maintenance and the cost of bringing it up to standards suitable for adoption.

Railway Network: Greater London

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers travelled into each central London overground passenger rail terminal in each year since 1997.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport does not publish information on passengers travelling into London stations. The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) does, however, publish station usage statistics. These are available on the ORR website:
	http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1529

Taxis: Disabled

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what requirements there are on licensing authorities in England outside London to change hackney carriage bylaws to require the provision of wheelchair-accessible taxis; and what guidance his Department has issued on the  (a) timing of and  (b) transition through these changes.

Paul Clark: The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 gave the Government the power to introduce accessibility regulations for several land-based modes of transport. Regulations have been introduced for trains and trams and for buses and coaches. However, no regulations have yet been developed and put in place for licensed taxis. Accessible taxi policies are currently a matter for individual local licensing authorities in line with general advice that the Department for Transport has issued to licensing authorities in 2002, 2004 and 2006.
	However, there remains a need to improve access to taxis for disabled people and we are committed to resolving this matter in a way that delivers the outcomes that disabled people, local authorities and the taxi industry would like to see. The Department will be publishing a consultation package very shortly that will look closely at the issues involved and will seek views on the way forward.

Tolls: Greater Manchester

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department and its agencies have had with the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities on its proposals to introduce congestion charging; and whether Transport Innovation Fund funding is linked to the implementation proposal.

Paul Clark: On 9 June 2008 my predecessor awarded Programme Entry for the Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund proposals for a £2.78 billion package of public transport investment and a twin-cordon congestion charging scheme. In this context departmental officials have regular ongoing contact with representatives of the Greater Manchester authorities.

Walking to School Initiatives

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the Walking to Schools initiative's budget was spent in 2007-08.

Paul Clark: Nearly 3,300 state-funded primary schools in England applied for a Walking to School Initiatives grant and 3,249 were successful. They were awarded a total of £2.58 million, which represented 51.6 per cent. of the Walking to School Initiatives budget in 2007-08.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Alcoholic Drinks

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the current levels of alcohol consumption by serving members of the  (a) Army,  (b) Navy and  (c) Royal Air Force; and what assessment he has made of the need to reduce alcohol consumption in the armed forces.

Kevan Jones: Studies indicate that 67 per cent. of men and 49 per cent. of women in the armed forces are consuming alcohol at levels deemed hazardous to health. For both sexes, hazardous drinking was most associated with being young, single and of lower rank. All three services are well aware of the potentially harmful effects that alcohol can have and have comprehensive programmes to promote the message of sensible drinking as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) regular and  (b) Territorial Army (i) officers and (ii) personnel of other ranks have been mobilised for service overseas within six months of completing their basic training in each year since 2003.

Bob Ainsworth: Officials are collating the information requested. I will write to the hon. Member when the work is complete and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
	 Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to Liam Fox:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 20 October 2008, (Official Report, column 121W) about Regular and Territorial Army personnel who have been mobilised overseas (ie deployed on operations) within six months of completing their basic training.
	Our investigations have established that this information cannot be provided for the period prior to the introduction of the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system for the Army in March 2007 without incurring disproportionate cost, as it would require the interrogation of thousands of individual service files. The figures for the period since the introduction of JPA are being validated by DASA (Defence Analytical Services Agency) after which it should be possible to provide a fuller answer. This validation will, however, take some months to complete.
	I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what evidence he has evaluated on the efficacy of decompression in the prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder;
	(2)  what feedback he has gathered from participants in decompression on its merits.

Kevan Jones: The decompression process is designed to be a brief 'wind-down' period for troops returning from operational theatres, and is aimed at facilitating the adjustment from the operational to the UK environment. It is not intended that it should play a major role in the prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a chronic disabling illness distinct to the more short-term adjustment issues that we can expect individuals to encounter in making the change from the operational to the home/family/non-operational environment.
	However, if during the process an individual demonstrates any indicators of possible mental health problems, then appropriate follow-up action will be taken.
	The King's Centre for Military Health Research is currently undertaking research into the merits of decompression, the results of which will be published on completion.

Armed Forces: Housing

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of his Department's housing sites with no medium-term requirement have been made available to the public on short-term leases.

Kevan Jones: holding answer 10 November 2008
	Schemes are currently in place at Innsworth and Woodbridge to rent out, on the commercial market, vacant accommodation for which there is a long-term but no medium-term requirement.

Armed Forces: Injuries

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements there are for recording and classifying traumatic brain injuries to military personnel in the course of their duties; how many such injuries there were, broken down by degree of severity in each of the last five calendar years; what arrangements are made to facilitate ongoing treatment by civilian health and social services after post-traumatic rehabilitation; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statements made in the House by my predecessor, the hon. Member for Halton (Derek Twigg), on 15 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 23-24WS, and 1 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 48-49WS.

Armed Forces: Insurance

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received on the provision of insurance for members of the armed forces; from whom such representations have been received; and what response he has made in each case.

Kevan Jones: In the last two months, Ministers have received two parliamentary questions and three letters from right hon. and hon. Members about the provision of insurance for members of the armed forces.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 November 2008,  Official Report, column 477W, to the hon. Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey) and the answer my noble Friend for International Defence and Security gave in another place on 21 October 2008,  Official Report, House of Lords, columns WA89-90.
	Two letters asked for details of the insurance cover available to service personnel on operations and whether they are charged higher insurance premiums than those not deployed. The responses explained that personal insurance is optional and additional to the benefits MOD provides under the Armed Forces Pension and Compensation schemes, which have recently been increased; however, MOD facilitates through commercial providers the PAX and service life insurance schemes which cover war risks and do not increase premiums for personnel on operations. In addition, MOD's Service Risks Insurance Premium Refunds Scheme contributes towards the inflated life insurance premiums which some insurers charge personnel serving on operations.
	The third letter expressed concern that young members of the armed forces pay higher vehicle insurance premiums than civilians of the same age. The response explained that some brokers have special arrangements with insurers for providing motor insurance for service personnel. In particular, the Services' Insurance and Investment Advisory Panel, who are a panel of independent insurance and investment advisers specialising in advising service personnel, can arrange motor insurance cover without premium loading and offer rates that are competitive with the rates available to civilians and in many cases are cheaper. They also provide some benefits that are not normally found in policies sold to civilians.

Armed Forces: Mental Health Services

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what treatment centres are available in the north of England to servicemen and women  (a) suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and  (b) who have recently served in Iraq and Afghanistan; how many servicemen and women and former servicemen and women have been treated in these centres in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: Within the north of England there is one military Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH), located in Catterick. DCMH Catterick is responsible for treating both regular and reserve service personnel, as out-patients, following a referral from their military general practitioner or the Reserve Mental Health Programme (RMHP) based at Chilwell. In-patient care, when necessary, is provided under contract by the Priory Group at facilities located in Darlington, Stockport, Altrincham and Bartle.
	Figures on attendances at DCMHs have only been centrally recorded since the beginning of 2007 as part of the work carried out by DASA, on the Armed Forces Psychiatric Morbidity Report; figures for 2008 are currently being verified and are not available for release. In 2007 there were 720 new attendances at DCMH Catterick, of whom 521 were assessed at their first appointment to be suffering from a mental health condition. Of those 521, 10 personnel were diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
	Information on the numbers of service personnel to be admitted as in-patients to the facilities named above for any cause between 2005-07 is shown as follows. Information is not held centrally on the specific diagnosis leading to their admittance.
	
		
			   Admittances to in-patient care 
			 2005 40 
			 2006 30 
			 2007 27 
		
	
	The treatment of veterans is the responsibility of the NHS and as such, with the exception of those eligible under RMHP, they do not receive treatment at DCMHs. However, the MOD does recognise that it has an expertise to offer in the diagnosis and treatment of service related mental health conditions. The Department of Health, in conjunction with the MOD, has launched five community mental health pilots targeted at veterans. Each site has a trained community veterans' mental health therapist. Veterans can access this service directly or through their GP, ex-service organisations, the Veterans' Welfare Service, or social service departments, the initiative is NHS-led and reflects NHS best practice. This will address assessment and treatment of veterans' mental health problems in the longer term. Within the north of England, a pilot is in operation at NHS Bishop Auckland General Hospital. Subject to the outcome of the evaluation, best practice will be identified and rolled out more widely across the UK.
	In addition, to assist those veterans not in the catchment areas of one of the pilots, we have expanded our Medical Assessment Programme (MAP) based at St. Thomas' Hospital, London, to include assessment of veterans with mental health symptoms with operational service since 1982. The clinician in charge also provides support and advice to GPs and other civilian health professional requiring advice on the military aspects of treatment.

Armed Forces: Safety

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures are in place in the armed forces to consider and act upon recommendations following Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigations; what HSE reports were received in 2007; and what steps were taken as a result of each.

Bob Ainsworth: The procedures for consideration and acting upon recommendations following Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Investigations are contained within Ministry of Defence policy documentation Joint Service Publication (JSP) 815—Defence Environment and Safety Management, Annex L and JSP 375—The MOD Health and Safety Handbook, Volume 2 Leaflet 14.
	Information about HSE reports received in 2007 and the actions taken is not held centrally and officials are collating the details. Once this work has been completed I will write to my hon. Friend.
	 Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to Joan Humble:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 29 October (Official Report, column 1029W) about Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigations and reports.
	In answering your question I have interpreted the phrase 'HSE Reports' to mean Crown Censures(1) or Crown Improvement Notices. None of the latter has been reported. The Ministry of Defence received two Crown Censures during January to December 2007.
	The first Crown Censure followed the fatality of a Corporal as a result of injuries sustained from being crushed between two armoured personnel carriers being unloaded from a low loader at Teesport, Cleveland in March 2007. The second Crown Censure was a fatality as a result of crushing between a Multiple Launch Rocket System vehicle and a large fork lift truck at Albemarle Barracks, Northumberland also in March 2007.
	As a result of these tragic incidents, investigations were carried out which have led to a revision of arrangements for assessing workplace transport risks in the MOD; specifically, improvements have been made in the following areas:
	1. Safe systems of work are now in place, including carrying out risk assessments and taking action on the resulting recommendations before any work is undertaken.
	2. All staff involved are properly trained and have access to sufficient information and instruction to enable them to carry out the work safely.
	3. Staff with supervisory duties now receive improved training on those responsibilities.
	4. Interfaces between the MOD internal organisations responsible for the delivery of vehicles and those operating the vehicle fleets have been improved.
	5. Equipment maintenance practises have been reviewed and improved systems have been put in place.
	(1) Crown Censure is an administrative procedure, whereby HSE may summon a Crown employer to be censured for a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act, or a subordinate regulation, which, but for Crown Immunity, would have led to prosecution with a realistic prospect of a conviction.

Army Benevolent Fund

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Army Benevolent Fund on their ability to fund rehabilitation for military casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Kevan Jones: MOD officials have regular formal and informal contact with the ABF on a range of issues, but the subject of rehabilitation has not been formally raised.

Defence Estates: Olympic Games 2012

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which parts of the Royal Artillery estates, other than those parts designated as housing, would need to be closed to enable shooting events during the London 2012 Olympics to take place at Woolwich.

Kevan Jones: Discussions between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) and the Ministry of Defence on hosting the shooting events at the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich are continuing. A priority is to minimise any disruption to the army units, soldiers and their families based at Woolwich but as yet no firm decision has been made on the design of the venue so it is too early to say if any areas will need to be closed.

Defence Estates: Olympic Games 2012

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Minister for the Olympics on the staging of the London 2012 Olympic events at Woolwich army base.

Kevan Jones: The current Secretary of State for Defence has not had any such discussions. His predecessor had several discussions with the Minister for the Olympics about the 2012 games that included the use of Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich.

Defence Estates: Olympic Games 2012

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of army families who would have to vacate their accommodation to enable shooting events to take place at Woolwich army base as part of the London 2012 Olympics.

Kevan Jones: It is a priority for the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Culture Media and Sport, and the London Organising Committee for the Olympic games to minimise any disruption to the army units, soldiers and their families based at Woolwich. However, until a decision is made on the final design of the venue, I cannot give an estimate of the number of families, if any, who may have to vacate their accommodation.

Defence Medical Services

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) required and  (b) actual strength of the Defence Medical Services is, broken down by type.

Kevan Jones: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 21 July 2008,  Official Report, column 842W. Manning statistics for the Defence Medical Services are updated twice a year, in April and October. The October figures are currently being collated, and I will write to the hon. Member when these have been completed.

Departmental Civil Servants

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civil servants were employed by his Department in each year since 1998, broken down by  (a) directorate,  (b) role and  (c) pay grade.

Kevan Jones: I have placed the information requested in the Library of the House.

Departmental Consultants

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on external consultants in each year since 1998.

Kevan Jones: Summaries for the years 1997-98 to 2007-08 of MOD expenditure on external assistance, of which consultancy is a part, are available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Health Services

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on private sector health specialists by his Department in the last five years.

Kevan Jones: The vast majority of healthcare for service personnel is provided, both at home and overseas, by the Defence Medical Services (DMS). However, there will be times when it is necessary to employ private sector health specialists, such as when a particular specialism is not available within the DMS, or when it would be impractical to provide the service using internal resources (for example, aspects of healthcare for personnel posted overseas in places such as Germany and other smaller bases and detachments).
	In practice, the departmental spend on such private sector health provision is drawn from a number of individual budgets across the MOD, including at local unit level within the single services, and disproportionate effort would be required to provide the information requested.
	However, we have been able to obtain a breakdown of costs from the MOD central budget and British Forces Germany which provide an insight into the figures and areas on which costs are incurred.
	
		
			  MOD central budget 
			  FY  £ 
			 2004-05 4,702,662 
			 2005-06 5,802,167 
			 2006-07 4,892,840 
			 2007-08 6,561,094 
			 2008-09 (up to 27 October) 3,282,269 
		
	
	These figures are inclusive of the contract costs the MOD has with the Priory, Alliance Medical etc.
	
		
			  British Forces Germany 
			  FY  £ 
			 2004-05 45,755,000 
			 2005-06 43,790,000 
			 2006-07 43,720,000 
			 2007-08 45,450,000 
		
	
	These figures include secondary healthcare contacts with German hospitals, non-contracted extra-contractural costs, primary care contract costs with SSAFA Forces Help, and Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, non contracted primary care costs, and costs related to isolated detachments in European theatre.

Departmental Manpower

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1040W, on departmental manpower, what records his Department's human resources division holds of the number of permanent departmental staff who do not have a permanent post.

Kevan Jones: As at 5 November 2008, there were some 525 MOD civil servants who were in the civilian redeployment pool because their substantive posts had reached an end, or because they were returning from overseas or extended absence. A further 446 were in the redeployment pool because their posts were due to end within six months. Those staff receive preferential consideration for posts. While in the redeployment pool, staff whose substantive posts have ended remain in their posts and continue to be funded and managed by their previous management, who assist them with their development and job search and employ them on appropriate temporary tasks. Central records of posts and their occupants, and of membership of the redeployment pool, are held by the People Pay and Pensions Agency (PPPA) for all MOD civil servants (other than employees of trading fund agencies for whom separate arrangements are made).

Departmental Mass Media

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on media monitoring activities in each year since 2005.

Kevan Jones: Media monitoring costs for the whole Department are not held centrally. The costs for the central Media and Communications unit which is responsible for management of media issues across defence including the armed forces are as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 514,363 
			 2005-06 539,407 
			 2006-07 678,929 
			 2007-08 730,390 
		
	
	These costs include press cuttings, online media monitoring and of national and regional broadcast footage; these products are used across the whole of defence from MOD Head office to our headquarters on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The costs reflect the quantity of stories and level of interest in defence stories.
	We have recently reviewed our contracts to assure ourselves that this represents value for money.

Departmental Paper

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of paper used  (a) for photocopying and  (b) in printed publications by his Department was from recycled sources in each of the last two years.

Kevan Jones: The percentage of paper used for photocopying and printed publications from recycled sources in the last two years is as follows:
	For the first year, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 May 2007,  Official Report, column 218W.
	From October 2007 to date, 2,072,455 reams of paper have been purchased for photocopying and computer printing; 688,163 reams (33.21 per cent.) of which complied with the recycled content standard. 100 per cent. of paper used in copiers and printers in the MOD head office buildings complies with the minimum recycled content standard. The MOD is committed to improving this figure and the paper framework catalogue highlights and recommends the use of recycled paper. Also when MOD staff order non-recycled paper from the Office Depot help desk, they are challenged on why they could not order recycled paper.
	From April 2007 to date, 2,185.84 tonnes of paper has been purchased for printed publications; 2,149.66 tonnes (98 per cent.) of which complied with the recycled content standard.

Fuels

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the capacity of storage facilities for  (a) petroleum products and  (b) natural gas is owned by his Department; and how much of the capacity is in use.

Bob Ainsworth: The petroleum product storage facilities for active sites, comprises 2.04 million cubic metres capacity. Additionally, a number of sites are held in reserve for contingency use as part of the United Kingdom's critical national infrastructure. I am withholding information on the current utilisation of strategic storage capacity for the purpose of safeguarding national security.
	The Ministry of Defence does not own any natural gas storage facilities.

Fuels

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many miles of pipeline for  (a) petroleum products and (b) natural gas his Department owns; and how much of the capacity is currently being utilised.

Bob Ainsworth: The Ministry of Defence owns 1,620 miles of pipeline for petroleum products. Current utilisation of the core network that connects import locations and refineries from which spur pipelines are connected to military establishments is approximately 80 per cent. of capacity.
	The Ministry of Defence does not own any natural gas pipelines.

Kenley Airfield

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 30 October 2008,  Official Report, column 2174W, on Kenley Airfield, what the monetary value of the portion of the fencing stored at Kenley Airfield that will not be used under the revised planning application is; and what plans he has to dispose of the surplus fencing.

Kevan Jones: The monetary value of the fencing stored at Kenley airfield, which will not be used in the new planning application, is in the region of £87,000. No decision has yet been made on the future use of the surplus fence.

Mentally Ill Staff

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department has gathered on the effect of its policies and practices on the recruitment, development and retention of employees with mental illnesses within  (a) his Department and  (b) the public sector bodies for which he has responsibility; and what use has been made of that information.

Kevan Jones: Under the disability equality duty introduced by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, the Department and its public sector bodies listed in the associated regulations are required to publish and implement disability equality schemes. In April 2008, the Ministry of Defence published a revised overarching equality and diversity scheme 2008-11, encompassing the armed forces, civilian and Ministry of Defence police, which incorporated our respective disability equality schemes (DES). The armed forces scheme includes the specific exemption from the employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. These plans set out how we will carry out the disability equality duty, monitor and report on progress. In particular, they include our arrangements for gathering information on the effect of our policies and practices on the recruitment, development and retention of our disabled civilian employees, including those with mental health conditions, and making use of that information.
	The following arrangements are set out in the Department's disability equality scheme:
	We have developed an equality and diversity impact assessment tool (EDIAT) to assist service, civilian and MDP policy makers when initiating and developing new policies and procedures, and when reviewing exiting policies to ensure that they fully comply with the duties placed upon us.
	We gather analyse and evaluate a range of civilian employment information on the effect of our policies on the development and retention of disabled staff.
	The public sector bodies sponsored by the Department that are subject to these requirements are responsible for publishing and implementing their own disability equality schemes.

Navy

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential of using commercial vessels in support of Royal Navy operations, in respect of  (a) cost,  (b) crewing arrangements and  (c) numbers of vessels available for charter;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the complementary roles in support of the Royal Navy which can be fulfilled by  (a) the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and  (b) commercial vessels.

Bob Ainsworth: The MOD uses a combination of commercial, auxiliary and military vessels. It does so after considerable consultation and analysis of the most efficient and effective means of meeting the requirement to ensure that we deliver value for money, taking into account of factors such as the potential threat level and the availability and capability of suitable assets including crews. While commercial vessels have expertise and equipment to suit their own specific trades, they do not have the training and skills for military operations and consequently there are limitations to their use, particularly in higher threat environments.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Airwave Service

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what organisations for which his Department is responsible  (a) use and  (b) are planning to use Airwave handsets.

Gerry Sutcliffe: None of the organizations for which my Department is responsible currently use Airwave. Discussions about the potential use of Airwave to support 2012 are under way but no decisions have yet been taken.

BBC

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many times he has met the director general of the BBC in the last month.

Andy Burnham: I met the director general once, on 5 November.

BBC: Internet

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions the Government have had with the BBC on its plans for local video sites.

Andy Burnham: I have regular meetings with the BBC at which we discuss a range of issues. This has included the local video proposal.
	The BBC's plans for local video sites are a matter for the BBC Trust. There is no provision for the Government to intervene in the day-to-day operational or editorial matters.

BBC: Internet

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions the Government has had with news organisations on the BBC's plans for local video sites.

Andy Burnham: officials in my Department and from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform meet from time to time with representatives from the newspaper industry who have raised this issue on a number of occasions.

Departmental Manpower

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff in his Department did not achieve an acceptable assessment grade in their annual report in the latest reporting year for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In DCMS only three staff out of 424 received a 'needs to improve' assessment in the latest reporting year (2007-08).

Digital Switchover Help Scheme: Gwent

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) people aged over 75 and  (b) disabled people who have received assistance from the digital switchover help scheme in Islwyn.

Andy Burnham: Digital switchover does not take place in Islwyn until the first quarter in 2010 and the Digital Switchover Help Scheme roll out has therefore not yet reached the stage where these data are available. The Digital Switchover Help Scheme has estimated however that about 5,000 people aged 75 and over and 3,000 disabled people in Islwyn are potentially eligible for assistance.

Gambling: Internet

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what internet gambling companies are registered in the UK.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 6 November 2008
	 The Gambling Commission publishes two public registers of all remote and non-remote gambling operators licensed by the Commission. These provide details of the licences granted and category of licence they hold.
	These registers are updated daily and can be found at the Gambling Commission's website:
	www.Gamblingcommission.gov.uk

Gambling: Internet

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent steps he has taken to regulate internet gambling.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) enabled internet gambling, as well as other forms of gambling and betting provided remotely, to be licensed and regulated effectively in Great Britain for the first time. Any operator who wants to offer remote gambling facilities and has remote gambling equipment located in Great Britain, must obtain a 'remote operating licence' from the Gambling Commission.
	To secure the three licensing objectives of the Act, the Gambling Commission is responsible for setting the licence conditions and codes of practice that all licensees, including remote licensees, must meet.

Gambling: Regulation

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with jurisdictions where remote gambling companies which are allowed to advertise in the UK operate on the adequacy of their regulatory regimes; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Ministers and officials have had discussions with a number of jurisdictions whose operators are allowed to advertise gambling in the United Kingdom. In some cases those discussions included an assessment of the regulatory regimes of those jurisdictions.

Gambling: Regulation

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he was first made aware of current levels of failure of the Gambling Commission's mystery shopper test for gambling operations; and what steps he has taken in response.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have not had any specific discussions with the Gambling Commission with regards to the levels of failure of the mystery shopper test.
	As the independent regulator for most commercial gambling in Great Britain, the Gambling Commission is best placed to assess the measures required where deficiencies are identified. However, to date, there have been no serious failures or complaints. Should the Commission find evidence of such failures, it has a wide range of regulatory sanctions that it may apply to an operating licensee in addition to its normal compliance activity. Such sanctions include warnings, additional conditions, financial penalties, suspension or revocation of licence and prosecution.
	If the Gambling Commission's mystery shopping exercises reveals failings in respect of operators licensed in overseas jurisdictions permitted to advertise gambling in Great Britain, I may consider making regulations to remove those jurisdictions from the list.

Gambling: Young People

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether all jurisdictions which have been placed on the gambling whitelist have procedures in place that ensure age verification can be conducted within 72 hours.

Gerry Sutcliffe: It is not a specific requirement of the Government's published criteria that jurisdictions have in place procedures where age verification checks are conducted within 72 hours. However, they must have in place measures to prevent under-age gambling and be able to demonstrate that their licensing and regulatory regime is sufficiently robust to protect children and vulnerable adults.

Gambling: Young People

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the adequacy of existing legislation on remote gambling in preventing children from gambling.

Gerry Sutcliffe: It is an offence under the Act for any operator to invite, cause or permit children to gamble, punishable by a large fine or imprisonment. Operators of internet gambling sites which are licensed by the Gambling Commission must comply with tough social responsibility measures to prevent underage gambling. If operators fail to comply with these requirements they are subject to regulatory action from the Gambling Commission. At present, the Government have seen no evidence that warrants changing the new protections brought in by the Gambling Act 2005.

Mass Media

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent steps the Government have taken to promote local and regional media organisations.

Andy Burnham: The UK Film Council provides funding to nine regional screen agencies in England to support film making and media activities within their area with funding and vital specialist expertise and advice.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice and assistance has been offered to aid workers in Afghanistan following the recent murder of Gayle Williams.

Bill Rammell: Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) make a vital contribution to the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan. There are significant risks working in Afghanistan, as recent tragic events have demonstrated. The travel advice provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is regularly updated and gives our best general assessment of the conditions on the ground. We regularly update NGOs who have registered with our embassy in Kabul on threats to security—it is then up to them to make their own judgments regarding their operations, often in consultation with the umbrella security organisation, the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office.

Arms Trade

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made towards an international arms trade treaty.

Bill Rammell: Together with Argentina, Australia, Costa Rica, Finland, Japan and Kenya, we have been pressing for an International Arms Trade treaty (ATT) to be agreed at the United Nations. At this year's First Committee of the UN General Assembly, the UK together with these six other states co-authored a resolution proposing further work at the UN in 2009 aimed at establishing an ATT. The resolution was adopted on 31 October by an overwhelming majority (147 states in favour, and only two votes against (the US and Zimbabwe). Achieving an ATT is a complex process, which will take time, but we have made good progress, and we will continue to work actively towards achieving our goal.
	On the domestic front, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary launched a new phase of the UK's campaign towards an ATT by hosting a meeting of key stakeholders from industry, civil society, academia and the media in London on 9 September. In addition, I hosted a briefing on 9 October for the London-based Diplomatic Corps, setting out the UK's support for an Arms Trade treaty and encouraging active international engagement in the UN process.

British Nationality: Detainees

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British nationals have been detained in  (a) Bangladesh,  (b) Syria and  (c) Egypt on suspicion of terrorist offences since 2000.

Bill Rammell: Officials in my Department are reviewing our records so that we can provide an accurate answer to the hon. Member's question. I will write to him with details as soon as possible.

Burma: Human Rights

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals the Government have put forward to strengthen co-ordination in Burma between the UN Secretary-General's Good Offices, the Security Council, the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Human Rights Council, the Group of Friends and the Focus Group; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The Government maintain a regular dialogue with all UN bodies working in Burma, both in New York and in country, and frequently discuss Burma with partners on the Security Council, the Human Rights Council and in the two informal groupings of countries acting in support of the Secretary-General's Good Offices Mission. Our embassy in Rangoon is relied upon by a number of international institutions as a source of advice and insights on the situation in Burma.
	Through these contacts, we encourage a coherent and consistent approach to Burma aimed at improving the lives of its people, including by providing substantial humanitarian assistance and working towards a credible transition to democracy and respect for human rights.

Burma: Storms

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent to which the Burmese authorities have met their commitments to grant access to foreign aid workers to the areas affected by Cyclone Nargis; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Access to the areas affected by Cyclone Nargis improved significantly after the visit of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on 23 May and the United Nations/Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference in Rangoon on 25 May. The rate of delivery of aid has now been good for several months. A Tripartite Core Group (TCG) made up of the UN, ASEAN and the Burmese Government was set up after the Conference. It has played a significant role in ensuring that aid gets through and that international experts have access to the affected areas. In late July, UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator John Holmes declared the operation was now a "normal international relief operation". However, important challenges remain over the coming months, particularly in providing clean water during the dry season in areas where traditional sources of supply are still contaminated by salt water, and in helping poor rural families restore their livelihoods.
	We continue to work with the UN, ASEAN and international partners to press the regime to live up to its commitments to allow unfettered access to the worst affected areas.

Departmental Pay

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will review salary negotiations for public sector employees in organisations within his Department's responsibility to reflect the rise in the consumer price index to a point above 3 per cent.

Gillian Merron: The Government's pay policy is guided by the following principles. Public sector pay settlements should be consistent with maintaining the necessary levels of recruitment, retention and staff engagement needed to support service delivery; ensure that total pay bills represent value for money and are affordable within Departments' overall expenditure plans; and be consistent with the achievement of the inflation target. Timing of pay decisions for a particular work force depends on pay-setting arrangements for that work force.

Departmental Public Participation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) surveys,  (b) questionnaires and  (c) other services were provided for his Department by external organisations in financial year 2007-08, broken down by provider.

Gillian Merron: The Department does not collect centrally information on all the (a) surveys,  (b) questionnaires and  (c) other services it commissions in the format requested. To do so would incur disproportionate cost.

Heathrow Airport: Official Visits

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what facilities his Department uses at Terminal 5, Heathrow Airport, to meet visiting diplomats and politicians.

Gillian Merron: The Windsor Suite at Terminal 5, which is owned and operated by BAA, is available for use by eligible diplomats and politicians. As with the other VIP suites serving terminals 1 to 4 at London Heathrow airport, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office pays only for use of the suites by those visiting the UK on state visits or as guests of the Government.

Libya: State Visits

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will facilitate a meeting between President Gaddafi of Libya on his forthcoming visit to the UK and representatives of the families of victims of IRA terrorist activity in incidents where the  (a) explosives,  (b) weapons and  (c) preparation of terrorist acts had their provenance in Libya; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: In light of an increasingly busy summit schedule through to the end of the year, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has decided to recast the energy summit scheduled for December as a ministerial meeting. Libya is expected to be represented by its Oil Minister, Shokri Ghanem and not Colonel Gaddafi. The opportunity for a meeting will therefore not arise.

Lost Working Days

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many working days have been lost due to industrial action by employees for which his Department is responsible in each year since 1997.

Gillian Merron: Working days lost due to industrial action for the 31 January and 1 May 2007 strikes were 38 and six respectively. Prior to 2007, the FCO has not recorded these figures. To answer this question would therefore incur a disproportionate cost.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he plans to take to promote a settlement between Israel and the Palestinian people; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The Annapolis process has been a first step to restoring trust between Israel and the Palestinian people. We should seek to build on it to create a process which can deliver a broader peace, in which all exercise their rights and fulfil their responsibilities. This would be a true settlement between Israel and all Arab states. I hope it will be given new momentum from the beginning of the new American administration.

Nepal: Human Rights

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise with the Nepalese authorities the treatment of ethnic Tibetans involved in recent demonstrations in Nepal.

Bill Rammell: Through our embassy in Kathmandu, we have monitored the situation of Tibetan refugees in Nepal closely since protests began earlier this year. On 23 June, our ambassador to Nepal joined a démarche on the Nepalese Foreign Secretary to raise concerns of the international community about the arrest of three prominent Tibetans in Kathmandu and the use of arbitrary detention under the Public Security Act. Staff from our embassy in Kathmandu have also accompanied officials from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights when they observed police action against protests by Tibetan refugees. We have encouraged the Nepal police to ensure that all officers act with restraint when handling protest groups and urged that action is taken against any officers accused of using excessive force. Together with our EU and other international partners, we will continue to monitor the situation in Nepal closely.

Official Cars

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which make and model of car the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN has chosen as his Ministerial car to be provided by the Government Car and Despatch Agency.

David Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 July 2008,  Official Report, column 414W by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Jim Fitzpatrick).

Somalia: Peacekeeping Operations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the deployment of an African Union mission in Somalia on peace and security in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has made a significant contribution to security in Mogadishu since its deployment. AMISOM soldiers from Uganda and Burundi protect key locations, including the port, airport, presidential palace and a key road junction. The security provided in Mogadishu has enabled the Somali leaders to concentrate on the political processes that are needed to secure peace in the long term.
	AMISOM soldiers have also been actively involved in providing humanitarian assistance to the Somali population, providing medical assistance and distributing water. These activities have made a positive impact on the situation of ordinary Somalis and help to support peace and security.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Social Exclusion

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps the Government are taking to use early intervention as a method to tackle social exclusion.

Liam Byrne: This Government have a strong track record of intervening early to address the root causes of social exclusion, not just the symptoms. Since 1997 we have invested over £21 billion in Sure Start children centres and extending the provision of child care.
	The 2006 Social Exclusion Action Plan underlined the Government's commitment to early intervention and launched a series of new evidence based programmes such as the Family Nurse Partnership which intensify even further our focus on prevention.

Taxation

Tony Baldry: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent discussions the Cabinet Office has had with Treasury Ministers on the Government's support for charitable organisations and on their taxation status.

Kevin Brennan: I meet with Treasury Ministers regularly to discuss a range of issues that affect the Third Sector.

Social Inclusion: Rural Areas

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent representations he has received on social inclusion in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Ministers receive representations on social inclusion in rural areas as part of their day to day work.
	The Government's Strong Rural Communities Programme supports people living in rural areas to achieve the same kinds of outcomes we want for all citizens—good health, decent homes, high quality education, and access to work.
	In addition, every local authority in both rural and urban locations will report on outcomes for disadvantaged groups, as part of our public service agreement for socially excluded adults.

Public Relations

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent on Government advertising, marketing and public relations in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2008 according to records held by the Central Office of Information.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan).

Social Exclusion: Young Women

Sally Keeble: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he is taking to tackle social exclusion among young women; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: Social exclusion is a priority for the Government. The Social Exclusion Task Force is leading the way through a PSA on socially excluded adults and by developing new approaches to tackling disadvantage.
	These approaches include the Family Nurse Partnerships, launched in April 2007, which have helped over 1,000 young women under the age of 20, and the £6 million Adults Facing Chronic Exclusion Programme, designed to test new approaches to tackling chronic social exclusion among the most marginalised people in society—including young women at risk of exclusion and associated problems such as abuse, crime and addiction.
	The Government are committed to ensuring that all young people are on the path to success—cross-cutting work which is driven primarily through PSA 14. Co-ordinated support for all young people, including women, covers initiatives such as targeted youth support, the commitment to reduce the proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET), the recently announced £13 million Intensive Intervention Projects, £140 million investment in targeted parenting programmes, and the expansion of whole family support initiatives such as Family Intervention Projects though a commitment to put one in every local authority by 2011. At the same time as strengthening our efforts to help young girls have the best start in life, the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy aims to ensure that young parents receive the support they need to make successful futures for themselves and their children.
	This work is supported by a range of other cross-government initiatives such as positive activities and the £190 million investment in improving youth facilities, and Government strategies on Youth Alcohol, Youth Crime, Youth Volunteering and Drugs.

Show Us A Better Way Competition

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the results of his Department's Show Us A Better Way competition were; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: I am delighted to inform the hon. Member that the overall winner of the Show Us A Better Way competition is Adam Temple with 'Can I Recycle It'. A full list of winners will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Post-16 Education and Training

Angela Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the effect on social exclusion and social mobility of post-16 education and training.

Kevin Brennan: Evidence suggests that education is an important factor in reducing the risk of social exclusion. For example, people with no qualifications are seven times more likely to be unemployed and five times more likely to be low paid than people with higher education. The Strategy Unit's discussion paper 'Getting on, Getting Ahead' identified high quality post-16 education and training as a critical factor in improving people's life chances. The discussion paper provides the analytical base for a cross-Government White Paper, to be published in December. The White Paper will set out a range of policies that aim to raise social mobility including providing more people with the capabilities and skills needed to get more and better jobs.

Government Departments: Correspondence

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2008,  Official Report, column 500W, on Government Departments: correspondence, what steps are in place to ensure such messages sent are potentially retrievable for responses to requests submitted under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Jack Straw: I have been asked to reply.
	Information held by a public authority will be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. A code of practice, issued under section 46, gives guidance on good practice in records management to all authorities subject to the Act.

Social Mobility

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the implications of the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report Getting On Getting Ahead for his Department's policy on social mobility.

Liam Byrne: This discussion paper brings together the leading academic research on social mobility in preparation for an important White Paper coming out at the end of the year.
	This paper provides a platform for Departments across Government to develop the policies that will give everyone a fairer chance of getting more and better jobs.
	Significantly, the paper identifies the need to support people from childhood right up until they are on the job ladder and beyond. Supporting families and communities is highlighted as an important context throughout the analysis.

HEALTH

Abortion

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the number of terminations of pregnancy in England in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: Abortion Statistics for England and Wales are published annually every June. Copies of previous statistics (including the 2007 data) have already been placed in the Library.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of treating patients with a primary or secondary diagnosis of excessive alcohol consumption was in each of the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: The International Classification of Diseases does not include a diagnosis specifically related to 'excessive alcohol consumption'. A 2008 paper by the Department 'The cost of alcohol harm to the NHS in England: An update to the Cabinet Office (2003) study' estimated the 2006-07 cost of hospital admissions where a primary or secondary diagnosis is wholly attributable to alcohol at £183 million in 2008-9 prices. A copy of this paper has been placed in the Library. Those diagnoses defined as wholly attributed to alcohol were:
	Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (142.6)
	Alcoholic gastritis (K29.2)
	Alcoholic myopathy (G72.1)
	Alcoholic polyneuropathy (G62.1)
	Alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing's syndrome (E24.4)
	Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol (G31.2)
	Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (F10)
	Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol (X45)
	Ethanol poisoning (T51.0)
	Methanol poisoning (T51.1)
	Toxic effect of alcohol, unspecified (T51.9)
	Chronic pancreatitis (alcohol induced) (K86.0)
	Estimates of other hospital and non-hospital costs of treating patients with a primary or secondary diagnosis of excessive alcohol consumption are not available.
	A Cabinet Office (2003) study Alcohol misuse: How much does it cost? estimated the cost of hospital admissions in 2000-01 at £126 million in 2001 prices. This used a different methodology to the Department's report's and so the estimates are not directly comparable.
	Data for other years are not available.

Carers

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were registered as carers in  (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and  (b) the London Borough of Bexley in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were registered as carers in Hemel Hempstead in each of the last five years.

Phil Hope: This information is not held centrally, as carers who support friends and family members are not required to register with local authorities.

Chlamydia

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what percentage of primary care trusts are taking part in his Department's National Chlamydia Screening Programme;
	(2)  what steps are being taken to reduce the incidence of chlamydia amongst people aged 16 to 24 years.

Dawn Primarolo: Every primary care trust (PCT) in England is now offering chlamydia screening through the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP). Opportunistic screening is offered to all sexually active women and men, aged under 25 years, in a variety of health and non-health care settings. The Department has made increasing screening volumes and reducing chlamydia prevalence a priority for the national health service and it is included as a tier two indicator in the operating framework for 2008-09 to 2010-11.
	To increase awareness of sexual transmitted infections and promote the use of condoms, we launched the Condom Essential Wear campaign in November 2006. Campaign tracking indicates that behaviour within the target audience has started to change and evidence suggests a shift in condom purchasing behaviour towards the target 18 to 24 age group.

Chronically Sick

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish his Department's review of strategy on managing chronic illnesses.

Ann Keen: The Department is not planning to publish a review of its strategy of managing long term conditions.

Contraceptives

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the merits of greater uptake of long-acting contraception;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the potential savings to the NHS through increased use of long-acting methods of contraception; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what proportion of the £26.5 million funding announced in February 2008 to improve young people's access to contraception he expects to be spent on long-acting reversible contraception; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidance on the cost-effectiveness of long-acting reversible (LARC) methods of contraception in October 2005 which found that LARC methods are more cost-effective than the combined oral contraceptive pill even at one year of use.
	NICE estimated that if 7 per cent. of women switched from the contraceptive pill to LARC methods the NHS could save an estimated £100 million each year by reducing unintended pregnancies by approximately 73,000.
	The national health service has been asked to prioritise improving access to LARC methods of contraception as part of their plans for the additional £26.8 million additional funding allocated in 2008-09.

Contraceptives

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he has in place to ensure that the £26.5 million funding announced in February 2008 to improve young people's access to contraception supports a full range of contraceptives, including long-acting reversible contraception.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) on 27 October 2008,  Official Report, column 665W.

Contraceptives

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what records his Department holds on the proportion of primary care trusts that have undertaken a comprehensive audit of long-acting reversible contraception;
	(2)  what records his Department holds on the level of GP compliance with the recommendation in Clinical Guideline CG30 that women requiring contraception should be offered a choice of all methods, including long-acting reversible contraception.

Dawn Primarolo: Primary care trusts undertook a national baseline questionnaire of contraceptive services in 2006. The Department's document Findings of the Baseline Review of contraceptive Services (2007) has been placed in the Library.
	Changes have been made to the NHS Quality and Outcomes Framework for 2009-10 for general practitioners (GPs) which include a reallocation of the points system to financially reward them for giving advice on contraception, particularly long-acting methods, to help prevent unintended pregnancies including teenage pregnancies.

Crohn's Disease

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has held with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on its consultation on Crohn's Disease—Infliximab (review) and Adalimumab; and when he expects it to publish its final appraisal determination.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department had no such discussions. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) held its second appraisal committee meeting on 22 October 2008 and, subject to consideration of the comments received in response to its consultation, NICE will issue its final appraisal determination in due course.
	Further information can be obtained on NICE's website at:
	www.nice.org.uk/guidance/index.jsp?action=byID&o=11727

Crohn's Disease

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the annual costs to the NHS of  (a) anti-TNF therapies and  (b) surgery in the treatment of Crohn's disease.

Ann Keen: No estimate has been made.

Crohn's Disease

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will collect data centrally on the number of people diagnosed with Crohn's disease in the last 12 months.

Ann Keen: We have no plans to collect data on the number of people diagnosed with Crohn's disease in the last 12 months.

Dementia: Research

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 377-8W, on dementia: research, when he expects a complete set of dementia research expenditure data for 2007-08 to be available.

Dawn Primarolo: The analysis required to produce the data should be complete by the end of this month. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as the information he has requested becomes available.

Departmental NDPBs

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what budget was allocated for the work of  (a) Monitor,  (b) the Standing Dental Advisory Committee and  (c) the Doctors and Dentists Review Body in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The budget allocated for the work of Monitor was:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 16,011,000 
			 2005-06 17,744,000 
			 2006-07 12,552,000 
			 2007-08 13,500,000 
			 2008-09 16,175,000 
		
	
	There was no central budget allocated for the work of the Standing Dental Advisory Committee, members have been paid for travel expenses on an ad hoc basis for attending meetings.
	The budget allocated for the work of the Doctors and Dentist Review Body was:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 0 
			 2005-06 36,000 
			 2006-07 41,000 
			 2007-08 36,000 
			 2008-09 38,000

Departmental NDPBs

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many paid officials work for  (a) Monitor,  (b) the Standing Dental Advisory Committee,  (c) the Doctors and Dentists Review Body,  (d) the NHS Litigation Authority,  (e) the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement,  (f) the NHS Business Services Authority and  (g) the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency.

Ann Keen: The information is as follows.
	
		
			   Number 
			 Monitor 89 
			 Standing Dental Advisory Committee 0 
			 Doctors and Dentist Review Body 0 
			 NHS Litigation Authority 158 
			 NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement 182 
			 NHS Business Services Authority 2,518 
			 NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency 259

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the rates of  (a) type 1 and  (b) type 2 diabetes were (i) in each of the last 10 years and (ii) at the most recent date for which information is available; and how often and by what mechanism the rate is measured.

Ann Keen: Information on the number of people with diabetes is available from the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF).
	Figures for the last 10 years are not available. However, the following table shows the number of people recorded on diabetes registers (including both type one and type two diabetes) from 2004-05 to 2007-08, from the QOF. It should be noted that patients will contribute to the figures in QOF only if they are registered with a general practice participating in the QOF. QOF data are collected annually and only include people with diabetes aged 17 or over. Figures are not available broken down into type one and type two diabetes. The latest prevalence data are from June 2008.
	
		
			  Patients with a recorded diagnosis of diabetes 
			   Number 
			 2004-05 1,766,391 
			 2005-06 1,890,663 
			 2006-07 1,961,976 
			 2007-08 2,088,335

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of new cases of diabetes identified in the last 12 months his Department estimates were due to  (a) better diagnosis of existing diabetes and  (b) more people developing diabetes.

Ann Keen: In 2007-08, there were 2,088,335 people recorded as having diabetes on general practitioner practice registers. This is an increase of 126,359 on the previous year. It is not possible to identify how much of this increase is through improved diagnosis of the condition, and how much is through an increase in the number of people developing diabetes.

East of England Strategic Health Authority: Operating Costs

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of running and administering the East of England Strategic Health Authority was in each year for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The operating costs of the East of England strategic health authority, for each full year since its incorporation are given in the following table.
	
		
			   Net  operating cost  (£000) 
			 2006-07 39,657 
			 2007-08 22,175 
			 2008-09(1) 18,752 
			 (1) Forecast Outturn.

Health Living Alliance

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to identify a champion in his Department to take advantage of the experience and skills developed by members of the Health Living Alliance; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has supported the Healthy Living Alliance (HLA) with initial set up funding and other help to ensure it has a place alongside other national public health non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The HLA is a member of the Department's NGO Forum which was set up and funded by the Department to facilitate dialogue between them, and with the Department and other government Departments, and to enable them to contribute to the development of public health policy drawing on their expertise. The Department also has a seat on the forum to facilitate engagement with the NGO sector. There are, however, no plans to provide each NGO with a dedicated champion or contact point.

Health: Olympic Games 2012

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Minister for the Olympics on any legacy of health improvements from the 2012 Olympic Games;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Minister for the Olympics on budgetary allocations for health improvement measures intended as a legacy of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Dawn Primarolo: The Legacy Action Plan (LAP) was published in June 2008 which set out the target for two million people to be more active by 2012 as the principal health legacy from the 2012 Olympic Games. Officials meet regularly to monitor progress of the LAP including those aspects related to the health legacy, which will set new standards in improving health. Governance arrangements to monitor the progress of the health legacy are being put in place.
	The London 2012 Olympic Games have added strength and impetus to the Government's plans for health-enhancing spend and physical activity and have inspired a cross-Government investment of £140 million in the national scheme to offer free swimming to those aged 16 and under and 60 and over.

Health: Research

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to assure the quality of academic research commissioned by his Department that relates to health improvement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department invests in research concerned with health improvement through National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funding streams, including the public health research programme launched in May this year, and via the Policy Research Programme. The research commissioned or supported in this way and the outputs from it are subject to rigorous independent peer review.
	The Government's health research strategy Best Research for Best Health aims to ensure that national health service research funding is used to support the highest quality research, and to provide the facilities and systems needed to enable that research to take place. A copy has been placed in the Library. Further details are available on the NIHR website at: www.nihr.ac.uk. The Department's research governance framework for health and social care defines the broad principles of good research governance and is designed to ensure that all health and social care research is conducted to high scientific and ethical standards. The framework has been placed in the Library and is published on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Researchanddevelopment/A-Z/Researchgovernance/index.htm.

Heart Diseases

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what percentage of patients with coronary heart disease had a record of total cholesterol of 5mmol/1 or less (Indicator CHD08) in each primary care trust on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will publish a table showing for each primary care trust in England the percentage of  (a) exception reporting on indicator CHD08 and  (b) patients with coronary heart disease whose last measured total cholesterol is 5mmol/1 or less in 2007-08.

Ann Keen: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

HIV Infection

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of new HIV infections were acquired outside the UK in each year since 2001.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Individuals diagnosed with HIV in the United Kingdom (UK) where probable country of infection was outside the UK by year of first UK diagnoses, 2001-07 
			   Persons for whom probable country of infection was reported, the proportion who acquired their infection outside the UK (percentage) 
			 2001 72 
			 2002 76 
			 2003 75 
			 2004 74 
			 2005 68 
			 2006 63 
			 2007 55 
			  Notes: 1. Figures may include some records of the same individuals, which are unmatched because of difference in the information supplied. 2. Figures for recent years may rise as further reports and/or additional information are received. 3. Data is to end of June 2008.  Source: Health Protection Agency

HIV Infection

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of people who have HIV but are unaware that they have the virus.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department is addressing reducing undiagnosed HIV infection in a number of ways, including increased investment in targeted HIV health promotion work to improve HIV testing uptake for those most at risk, namely gay men and people from African communities. This has resulted in an increased uptake of HIV testing in Genito-Urinary Medicine clinics from 61 per cent. in 2001 to 85 per cent. in 2006 for gay men and from 41 per cent. to 72 per cent. in heterosexuals.
	In addition, the offering and recommending of an HIV test to all pregnant women has resulted in an estimated 90 per cent. uptake in 2006 and a dramatic fall in the proportion of women giving birth to HIV positive babies.
	Also, through funding the publication of HIV for non-HIV specialists: 'Diagnosing the Undiagnosed', we are providing detailed guidance to support improved detection and diagnosis of HIV in the UK. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	We are also inviting proposals for new pilots on action to reduce undiagnosed HIV following publication in June of 'Health Inequalities: Progress and Next Steps'. A copy of this has been placed in the Library. Funding of £400,000 is available to support the pilots this year. This will support implementation of the UK 'Guidelines for HIV testing 2008', prepared by the British HIV Association, the British Association of Sexual Health and HIV and the British Infection Society, and published in September 2008.

HIV Infection: Research

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department is providing for research into HIV and AIDS in 2008-09.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department and the Medical Research Council (MRC) have made a sustained investment in HIV/AIDS research over the last 20 years and will continue to do so.
	Implementation of the Department's research strategy Best Research for Best Health has resulted in an expansion of our research programmes and in significant new funding opportunities for research in all areas of human health. A copy has already been placed in the Library. The MRC spent some £29 million on research related to HIV/AIDS in 2007-08 and the Department £2.2 million.
	Joint MRC and Department for International Development initiatives supporting and encouraging research on HIV include the DART trial, one of the largest trials in Africa to evaluate two strategic approaches for the management of antiretroviral therapies; the antiretorviral research for Watoto trial (the largest paediatric HIV trial worldwide); and the microbicides development programme, a partnership between the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa to develop vaginal microbicides for the prevention of transmission of HIV infection.
	The European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, which involves 16 European countries and 46 sub-Saharan African countries, and of which the MRC is a key member, aims to develop new clinical interventions to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

Human Rights

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the medical profession on the content of paragraphs 25.3 and 25.4 of the Eighteenth Report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights of Session 2004-05; what representations he has received on these paragraphs since January 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The section of the report referred to relates to the provisions of a draft private Member's Bill about assisted dying and so is not a matter for the Department. Since January 2007, the Department has received more than 200 letters on issues relating to assisted dying. Records are not kept on how many of these support or oppose the Bill in general or any particular aspect of the Bill.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency: Income

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what fees have been paid by each organisation to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) charges fees to many organisations for its various activities relating to the regulation of medicines and medical devices. The total sum paid by 3,388 organisations through fees in relation to medicines regulation over the last 12 months is £99 million. It is not possible to give information about the actual amount paid by each organisation without the risk of breaching commercial confidentiality.

Multiple Sclerosis

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who in his Department was responsible for the approval of the evaluation methodology used in the risk sharing scheme for the provision of multiple sclerosis disease modifying drugs.

Ann Keen: Health Service Circular 2002/004 "Cost effective provision of disease modifying therapies for people with multiple sclerosis" was approved by Ministers and issued on 4 February 2002. A copy has been placed in the Library and is also available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/Healthservicecirculars/DH_4004332

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to issue a direction to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to publish the models it uses in each appraisal.

Dawn Primarolo: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) already publishes on its website information used by its appraisal committees in formulating their recommendations as part of each technology appraisal. We have no plans to issue a direction to NICE on this issue.

NHS: Drugs

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to end the prohibition on the purchase of additional private drugs to complement NHS treatment; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: I refer the right hon. Member to the oral statement that was made by the Secretary of State for Health on 4 November 2008,  Official Journal, column 131.
	The statement was in response to the report, "Improving access to medicines for NHS patients", published by Professor Mike Richards, the National Clinical Director for Cancer, which recommends a package of measures to widen access to drugs on the NHS, thereby reducing the need for patients to purchase additional, private treatment. However, when patients still choose to do so, revised guidance, issued in draft by the Department of Health, makes it clear that no patient should lose his or her entitlement to NHS care. A copy of the full report has been placed in the Library and can be found at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_089927

NHS: Drugs

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS of unused prescribed drugs was in 2007-08.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Norfolk, (Norman Lamb) on 2 June 2008,  Official Report, column 598-99W.

NHS: Grayling Political Strategy

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what payments NHS Hubs  (a) has made and  (b) is contracted to make to Grayling Political Strategy; and for what purposes.

Ben Bradshaw: As of 5 November 2008, Grayling Political Strategy has sent one invoice to NHS Innovations Centres. The total amount is £2,843.50.
	NHS Innovations comprise nine Innovation Centres, seven of which are companies limited by guarantee, two of which are unincorporated associations. They have retained Grayling Political Strategy for a stakeholder engagement programme. Each Innovation Centre will pay approximately £5,000 for the work.

NHS: Information and Communications Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on which occasions  (a) each local service provider and  (b) BT have breached the terms of their contract with Connecting for Health.

Ben Bradshaw: All the national programme for information technology local service provider (LSP), and national application service provider (NASP), contracts include provisions appropriate to contracts of their size and complexity to address foreseeable development, delivery and service issues, including terms that permit the issue of a breach of contract notification under defined conditions.
	In the case of the Fujitsu LSP contract, 41 breach of contract notices were issued, which ultimately resulted in the termination of the contract on 28 May 2008.
	None of the remaining LSP and NASP providers, including BT, have been issued with formal breach of contract notices. However, as part of the normal contractual processes, a number of so-called 'contractor event of default' notices have been issued, reflecting operational matters identified during the normal course of contract delivery that need to be addressed. All the matters identified have been addressed using the existing contractual remedies.

NHS: Information and Communications Technology

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospital trusts are using the NHS IT system Cerner; which version of the system each trust is using; when each trust installed the system initially; what the effect of adverse variance to budget has been for each trust in each quarter since installation; and what costs have been incurred by each trust as part of the implementation to date, with particular reference to the costs of  (a) activity shortfalls attributable to the system not supporting the trust in managing the patient pathway leading to clinic and admission slots not being used,  (b) data entry difficulties attributable to the system supplied being different from the training system or to the lack of operating or procedure manuals,  (c) additional staff required for rectification or to maintain normal activity levels and  (d) issues causing reductions in clinical efficiency.

Ben Bradshaw: Information requested on deployments, through the national programme for information technology, of the Cerner Millennium system in acute national health service trusts is in the following table.
	
		
			  Acute trust  Software version  Technical go-live (TGL)( 1) 
			 Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS trust RO 9 February 2007 
			 Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS trust RO 19 April 2007 
			 Weston Area Health NHS trust RO 29 July 2006 
			 Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation trust RO 14 December 2007 
			 Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS trust RO 20 December 2005 
			 Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS trust RO 23 February 2007 
			 Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS trust RO 25 September 2006 
			 Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS trust RO 28 September 2007 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust RO 21 July 2007 
			 Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust RO 28 October 2007 
			 Barts and The London NHS trust RO 6 April 2008 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust LC1 15 June 2008 
			 (1) TGL refers to when the system was first technically enabled and available for use, prior to 'business go-live' (BGL), when systems begin to be used for live transactions. There may be a delay between TGL and BGL, for example to allow time for users to be trained or to allow other dependent deployments to proceed.  Note: Comprehensive information of the kind requested about the financial and resource impact, if any, resulting from implementation of the Cerner system is not held centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

NHS: Negligence

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been paid out in legal costs in connection with medical negligence compensation cases by each London-based hospital trust in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The document, "London Hospital Trusts' legal costs for clinical negligence between 2005 and 2008", has been placed in the Library and contains the information requested. The data covers legal costs associated with payments under the National Health Service Litigation Authority's (NHSLA) Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts and Existing Liabilities Scheme. Claims information can be found in the NHSLA's published factsheets, available on their website at:
	www.nhsla.com/Publications.

NHS: Sick Leave

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average length of sickness leave per employee was at  (a) the NHS Blood and Transplant Authority,  (b) NHS Professionals,  (c) the Commission for Social Care Inspection,  (d) the General Social Care Council,  (e) the Healthcare Commission,  (f) the Appointments Commission,  (g) the Mental Health Act Commission,  (h) the Social Care Institute for Excellence,  (i) the Hepatitis Advisory Group,  (j) the AIDS Expert Advisory Group and  (k) the Healthcare Regulatory Council in the most recent period for which information is available.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Arm's length bodies 
			   Days per employee 
			  (a) NHS Blood and Transplant 12.21 
			  (b) NHS Professionals 6.20 
			  (c) Commission for Social Care Inspection 11.80 
			  (d) General Social Care Council 2.07 
			  (e) Healthcare Commission 3.50 
			  (f) Appointments Commission 8.05 
			  (g) Mental Health Act Commission 6.00 
			  (k) Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence 1.68 
		
	
	 Charities
	 (h) Social Care Institute for Excellence is a charity: 4.6 days per employee
	 Advisory non-departmental public bodies
	 (i) Hepatitis Advisory Group
	 (k) AIDs Expert Advisory Group
	Neither of these two bodies employ staff.

Obesity

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the rate of obesity was at the latest date for which information is available.

Dawn Primarolo: The latest information on adult obesity prevalence is available from the Health Survey for England 2006 "Latest trends: Adult trend tables 2006", published on 31 January 2008 for adults aged 16 and over. The information can be found on table 4. This publication has already been placed in the Library.
	The latest information on obesity prevalence among children aged 2-15 in 2006 is available from the Health Survey for England 2006 "Latest trends: Children trend tables 2006", published on 31 January 2008. The information can be found on table 4. This publication has already been placed in the Library.
	Further information on children's obesity prevalence is available for those in school year reception (aged four to five) and year six (aged 10-11) from the National Child Measurement Programme: 2006-07 (NCMP). The NCMP provides the most comprehensive data on obesity among children aged four to five and 10-11 years, in England. This information is available in the National Child Measurement Programme: 2006-07 school year, headline results, published on 21 February 2008. The prevalence of obese children can be found in Table 1 (page 3). This publication has already been placed in the Library.

Primary Care Trusts

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure primary care trusts (PCTs) pay their bills to pharmacists on time; what representations his Department has received from pharmacists on the late payment of bills by PCTs; and what estimate his Department has made of the average amount of time taken by PCTs to pay bills from pharmacists.

Dawn Primarolo: For essential and advanced pharmaceutical services, the Department ensures that pharmacy contractors are paid by the Prescription Pricing Division of the NHS Business Services Authority, to a published timetable. This centralised administrative payment function utilises both primary care trust (PCT) and central funds.
	Payment for local enhanced pharmaceutical services is set by the commissioning PCT. Local arrangements determine the time scale for payment.
	The Department has received no formal representations on the late payment of bills by PCTs or made any estimate of the average amount of time taken by PCTs to pay, directly, bills from pharmacists.

Primary Health Care

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to reform the management of primary care.

Ben Bradshaw: The management of individual primary care services is the responsibility of the respective general practitioner practices, subject to contracts they hold with primary care trusts.
	The "NHS Next Stage Review: Our vision for primary and community care", published in July this year, set the strategy for primary and community care over the next 10 years. As part of this vision, we are working with the national health service to support them in improving the commissioning of primary care services in order to ensure that high-quality care is a consistent part of everyone's experience.

Prostate Cancer: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people received treatment for prostate cancer in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) West Hertfordshire Hospital Trust in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not held centrally.

Royal Cornwall Hospital: Standards

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis was for the remarks made by the Minister of State for Health Services on patient outcomes at the Royal Cornwall hospital during his interview broadcast on BBC Radio Cornwall on 14 October.

Ann Keen: A review undertaken by two of the country's leading surgeons for Upper GI cancer, Professor Mike Griffin and Bill Allum, said that
	"as soon as is practicable the Royal Cornwall hospital NHS Trust Upper GI surgery service should be discontinued and centralised within the Peninsula Network".
	Copies of the review can be found at:
	http://www.cornwall.nhs.uk/CIOSPCT/KeyDocuments/BoardSept08/UpperGIreview.pdf
	A copy has also been placed in the Library.
	They also found that the mortality for oesophagectomy at the Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust over the last four and a half years is 12.5 per cent. These results represent the same results as those quoted for units before centralisation took place. However in those Networks with centralised surgical services the most recent 2006-07 data records on hospital mortality is 4.9 per cent. and this is considered to be the current standard.
	The data reported to the South West Cancer Registry from hospital episode statistics for the period January 2003 to March 2006 are as follows.
	
		
			   Number of procedures  Deaths before 31 days  One year mortality (deaths) 
			Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Plymouth Hospital NHS Trust 158 11 7 33 21 
			 Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust 108 6 6 23 21 
			 Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust 80 9 11 31 39 
			 South West Strategic Health Authority 917 66 7 267 29

Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Screening

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many sexual health test screens were carried out in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2008.

Dawn Primarolo: Data on sexual health screens are not available for 1997 as the sexual health screen codes have only been collected since 2003.
	The number of sexual health screens undertaken in genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics in England, by gender; for the years 2003 and 2007, (the latest date for which figures are available) are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of sexual health screens 
			   2003  2007 
			 Male 300,926 491,444 
			 Female 332,363 531,357 
			 Total 633,289 1,022,801 
			  Notes: 1. The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are for sexual health screens conducted in GUM clinics only. Sexual health screens conducted in other clinical settings, such as General Practice, are not recorded in the KC60 dataset. 2. The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are the number of sexual health screens performed, not the number of patients screened. 3. Data are by area of GUM clinic and not patients' area of residence. 4. The information provided has been adjusted for missing clinic data.  Source: Health Protection Agency, KC60 returns

Smoking

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce smoking rates among those ethnic minority communities whose rates are higher than the national average.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department and the national health service make a range of support available to all smokers who want to quit. According to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE):
	"Reducing smoking prevalence among people in routine and manual groups, some minority ethnic groups and disadvantaged communities will help reduce health inequalities more than any other public health measure"
	(NICE public health guidance 10, 2008).
	The NHS has a network of NHS stop smoking services available in communities across the country. These services are encouraged to provide stop smoking services that are accessible for all potential service users, including for smokers from minority ethnic communities. To assist with the provision of stop smoking services to smokers for ethnic communities, the Department for Communities and Local Government published "Working with Black and Minority Ethnic Communities: A guide for Stop Smoking Service Managers" earlier this year. Health trainers, recruited from local communities also encourage smokers to quit with the support of the NHS.
	The Department operates an Asian Tobacco Helpline, and makes available printed materials available in a range of languages. The NHS's "GoSmokefree" website at
	www.nhs.uk/gosmokefree
	includes downloadable resources in a range of languages. The Department also supports a number of specific projects for minority ethnic communities at regional level.

Smoking

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce smoking rates in regions where they are above the national average.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department works in close partnership with the national health service and local authorities to reduce smoking prevalence in all regions.
	In 2006, smoking prevalence was highest in the north west and north east with both regions having smoking prevalence rates of 25 per cent. of persons aged over 16, compared to the national average of 22 per cent. Dedicated tobacco control offices have been established by the NHS in both regions to reduce smoking rates.
	The Department resources the NHS to provide NHS stop smoking services, with additional funding made available to spearhead areas. Funding is also provided for regional tobacco teams to co-ordinate tobacco control activity.
	The Department also runs national marketing campaigns. Marketing activity is upweighted in high prevalence areas and regions where appropriate.
	The Department encourages local areas and regions to undertake comprehensive action to reduce smoking prevalence, involving a range of partners including the NHS and local authorities. To guide this action, the Department published "Excellence in tobacco control: 10 High impact changes to achieve tobacco control—An evidence based resource for local alliances" earlier this year. A copy has been placed in the Library.

Smoking

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were admitted to hospital with a primary diagnosis of a disease which can be attributed to smoking in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not available in the precise form requested. Data on NHS hospital admissions for adults aged 35 and over where there was primary diagnosis of diseases which can be caused by smoking over the period 1996-97 to 2006-07 are in the following table.
	
		
			  NHS( 1)  hospital admissions for adults aged 35 and over( 2, 3)  where there was primary diagnosis( 4)  of diseases( 5 ) which can be caused by smoking. 1996-97 to 2006-07. England 
			  Number of admissions 
			   All admissions which can be caused by smoking  Cancers which can be caused by smoking( 6)  Respiratory diseases which can be caused by smoking  Circulatory diseases which can be caused by smoking  Diseases of the digestive system which can be caused by smoking  Other diseases which can be caused by smoking 
			 1996-97 1,122,539 224,432 142,268 601,272 41,940 112,627 
			 1997-98 1,182,940 253,268 139,481 629,282 43,420 117,489 
			 1998-99 1,270,386 265,331 163,532 658,515 44,687 138,321 
			 1999-2000 1,288,702 276,897 166,146 656,510 44,440 144,709 
			 2000-01 1,277,830 274,216 152,154 651,566 41,422 158,472 
			 2001-02 1,283,477 273,228 161,897 647,561 39,168 161,623 
			 2002-03 1,337,860 283,503 168,838 666,149 38,877 180,493 
			 2003-04 1,387,967 287,919 189,903 672,441 39,361 198,343 
			 2004-05 1,406,264 294,443 195,817 674,539 38,306 203,159 
			 2005-06 1,434,568 317,774 197,980 685,144 40,067 193,603 
			 2006-07 1,431,831 324,936 201,578 679,625 42,038 183,654 
			 (1 )NHS hospitals and activity performed in the independent sector in England commissioned by the NHS. The data include private patients in NHS hospitals (but not private patients in private hospitals). (2 )Figures are presented for adults aged 35 and over except for admissions for age related cataracts where patients must be 45 years and over and admissions for hip fracture where patients must be aged 55 years and older due to risk ratios only being available for these age groups. (3 )The figures exclude people whose gender was unknown or unspecified and whose country of residence was not confirmed as England. (4 )The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the hospital episode statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital (5 )ICD-10 codes used have been updated since the 2007 bulletin. See Appendix C for corresponding ICD-10 codes used with aforementioned categories. (6 )Figures exclude admissions for cervical cancer whose gender was specified as male.  Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics. The NHS Information Centre, 2008

Water: Pollution

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his reasons were for rejecting funding applications for research into the deaths of two women with raised levels of brain aluminium, following the 1988 Lowermoor water poisoning episode; what the reasons were for not giving full access to his Department's records to the coroner over this matter as requested; whether officials who worked on the incident in 1988 have given advice to inform his latest decision; and whether he has consulted the Chief Medical Officer on the matter.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 30 October 2008
	 The Department has mechanisms to fund policy related research, but usually commissions such work by issuing a call for proposals for research to address the problem at hand and tendering. The Department would then use peer review to commission the most appropriate and promising proposal. This ensures that money is spent, and research commissioned, through a transparent process and one that is fair to all those who may be interested in carrying out the research. We would not normally respond to specific requests to fund specific researchers.
	A substantive review of the potential health consequences of the chemicals released in the incident undertaken by the Committee on Toxicity (COT) Subgroup on the Lowermoor Water Pollution Incident, chaired by Professor Frank Woods, was to publish its final report in July. But that publication has been delayed by the inquiry at the request of the coroner. The subgroup report includes a number of conclusions and recommendations. These include a number of recommendations for further research. The main Committee is currently considering and refining these recommendations before putting them to the Department.
	The coroner has not to our knowledge requested access to any Department's records.
	Officials who worked on the incident in 1988 are no longer in the Department and were not asked for advice on this matter.
	The Chief Medical Officer has not been consulted over this specific issue, although he is kept aware of developments in relation to. the work of the Committee on the Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) Subgroup on the Lowermoor Water Pollution Incident. This subgroup has now prepared a final report but publication has been delayed at the request of the Coroner and on the advice of DH lawyers, for the duration of the inquest.

West Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust: Pay

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by West Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust on salaries and wages for  (a) general and senior managers,  (b) nurses and midwives and  (c) administrative and clerical staff in each year since its creation.

Ann Keen: West Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) was established on 1 October 2006. Data are provided for 2006-07 and 2007-08 as follows.
	
		
			  £000 
			   2006-07  2007-08 
			 Managers and senior managers 5,421 7,661 
			 Nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 23,200 22,434 
			 Administrative and clerical staff 5,288 5,500 
			  Notes: 1. West Hertfordshire PCT was established on 1 October 2006 from four dissolving PCTs: St. Albans and Harpenden, Dacorum, Watford and Three Rivers and Hertsmere. Note that the 2006-07 figures contain data for the four former PCTs for the first six months of the financial year plus West Hertfordshire PCT for the second half of the financial year and may be distorted due to the merger. It is not possible to split the 2006-07 data between the former PCTs and West Hertfordshire PCT. 2. Data include salaries and wages, social security costs and pension contributions. It is not possible to separately identify salaries and wages for these groups of staff. 3. Figures include permanently employed staff and non-NHS staff, e.g. agency staff.  Source: Information is from the 2006-07 and 2007-08 financial returns for West Hertfordshire PCT. The data are not audited but are validated to the audited financial monitoring and accounts forms.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Access NI

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the performance of AccessNI against its objectives.

Paul Goggins: Since its launch in April 2008, AccessNI has received more than 70,000 disclosure applications. While AccessNI has maintained service delivery within the performance targets for basic and standard disclosures, it has failed to achieve its targets in relation to enhanced disclosures.
	Additional resources have been made available and I remain confident that the four week target for enhanced disclosures will be achieved before the end of the year.

Access NI

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) basic,  (b) standard and  (c) enhanced applications have been processed by AccessNI since 1 April 2008; and what percentage of these was completed within the relevant performance target time.

Paul Goggins: Statistics collated up to 31 October 2008 indicate that AccessNI has received 9,040 basic applications, 2,377 standard applications and 57,183 enhanced applications. During the period in question AccessNI has maintained a performance target to complete 90 per cent. of basic applications within two weeks and 90 per cent. of standard applications within three weeks.
	Additional resources have been made available and I remain confident that the four week target for enhanced disclosures will be achieved before the end of the year.

Departmental Conditions of Employment

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of employees in his Department are  (a) on a flexible working contract,  (b) on a job share employment contract and  (c) work from home for more than four hours a week.

Paul Goggins: Within the Northern Ireland Office staff are expected to work conditioned hours, however there is a considerable amount of flexibility in the way staff are permitted to work. Flexible working time (that is, a flexible start and finish each day) is available to the majority of staff where operational/business needs permit.
	In line with The Employment (NI) Order 2002 the Northern Ireland Office has processes in place to allow staff to request flexible working hours to enable them to balance their family and employment responsibilities.
	The following table shows the percentage of staff on a flexible working contract (reduced hours, term-time full-time and term-time part-time) or job share employment contract at 3 November 2008.
	
		
			  Type of contract  Number and percentage 
			 Total number of employees 2,152 
			 Percentage of staff on flexible working contract 12.9 
			 Percentage of staff on job share contract 1.3 
		
	
	Local managers may allow staff to work at home on an ad hoc basis. These arrangements are informal and no monitoring of this pattern of working is currently carried out. Information on this type of home working could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Consultants

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many retired or former civil servants were employed as consultants by his Department in each year since 1998-99; and how much they were paid in each year.

Shaun Woodward: Information on retired or former civil servants employed by the Northern Ireland Office is not held centrally. To obtain this information could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Consultants

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has spent on external consultants and advisers since May 2007.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office, excluding its Agencies and Executive NDPBs, spent a total of £4,813,869 on external consultancy costs and £2,869,912 on advisors costs for the period May 2007 to March 2008.
	Figures for the current financial year have not been included as they have not yet been audited and are therefore subject to change.

Departmental Correspondence

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the number of official  (a) emails,  (b) telephone calls,  (c) faxes and  (d) letters his Department has received since May 2007.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office does not hold the information centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost.
	However, the Department collates information for public letters and ministerial correspondence for the annual departmental report, as part of the six national standards for central Government which were introduced to the Department and its executive agencies from April 1997. The numbers of letters received in the period 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2007 is available in the departmental report which can be located on the NIO website at:
	www.nio.gov.uk
	or a copy is available in the Library.

Departmental Marketing

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on advertising in the last 12 months.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office, excluding its Agencies and Executive NDPBs, spent £454,075 on advertising during 2007-08.

Departmental Official Visits

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent on overnight accommodation for his Department's staff in the last 12 months.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office, excluding its agencies and executive NDPBs, spent £200,601 on overnight accommodation during 2007-08.

Departmental Vehicles

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vehicles his Department owns.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office, excluding its agencies and executive NDPBs, owned three vehicles as at 30 September 2008. All three of these vehicles are tractors.

Economic Situation

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Assembly on prospects for the Northern Ireland economy;
	(2)  how many meetings he has had with members of the business community in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months;
	(3)  what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland  (a) First Minister and  (b) Deputy First Minister on the economy and businesses in Northern Ireland;
	(4)  what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the exposure of Northern Irish taxpayers to the liabilities of UK banks;
	(5)  what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the impact on Northern Ireland banks of guarantees given by the Republic of Ireland to Irish banks.

Shaun Woodward: I have regular meetings with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, HM Treasury Ministers, the First and Deputy First Ministers, Northern Ireland Ministers and others including on a number of matters relating to the Northern Ireland economy and businesses.
	I represent the interests of Northern Ireland within Cabinet and in my capacity as a member of the National Economic Council which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister set up to co-ordinate economic policies across Government and assess the implications of the ongoing challenges in the financial markets for the United Kingdom.
	Financial services and financial markets are not devolved matters and are the responsibility of Treasury Ministers, who also have discussions from time to time at the request of Northern Ireland Minsters on matters of mutual interest.
	Those aspects of the economy which are devolved are the responsibility of the relevant Northern Ireland Ministers with whose officials mine liaise on an on-going basis.
	In preparation for the very successful investment conference in May this year, I met various Northern Ireland and international business leaders and continue to maintain that contact.

Electronic Equipment

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has spent on electrical equipment in the last 12 months.

Shaun Woodward: In 2007-08, the Northern Ireland Office, excluding its agencies and executive NDPBs, spent £24,603 on electrical appliances where each appliance had a value of less than £1,000.
	Electrical equipment with a value of more than £1,000 is classed as capital expenditure. Due to the structure of capital expenditure account codes, it would be possible to provide information on spend on electrical equipment where each appliance had a value greater than £1,000 only at disproportionate cost.

Irish Language

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had on the promotion of the Irish language in  (a) Northern Ireland and  (b) elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

Shaun Woodward: I continue to have discussions with interested parties on a range issues, including the Irish language. The Northern Ireland (St. Andrews Agreement) Act 2006 placed a statutory duty on the Northern Ireland Executive Committee to
	"adopt a strategy setting out how it proposes to enhance and protect the development of the Irish language".
	The UK Government remain committed to doing all they can to continue working with the Executive to this end.

Performance Appraisal

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff in his Department did not achieve an acceptable assessment grade in their annual report in the latest reporting year for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: Within the Northern Ireland Office two members of staff received an unsatisfactory report marking for the 2007-08 reporting period.

Police Service of Northern Ireland: Recruitment

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what percentage of recent recruits to the Police Service of Northern Ireland were from ethnic minorities;
	(2)  what percentage of the most recent cohort of recruits to the Police Service of Northern Ireland are from  (a) Catholic and  (b) Protestant backgrounds.

Paul Goggins: That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Accession Monitoring Report

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library a copy of the EU's most recent Accession Monitoring Report for the A8 countries.

Phil Woolas: The House of Commons Library retains electronic copies of the Accession Monitoring Report from May 2004 to date within the Statistics Resource Unit. Additionally some have been deposited and are available as Deposited Papers from the Members' Library.
	The report is located on the House of Commons Library Catalogue.
	The last published Accession Monitoring Report May 2004-June 2008 can be accessed on the UK Border Agency website on the following link:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/reports/accession_monitoring_report/
	The next report to September 2008 will be published on 19 November.

Asylum

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum claimants from  (a) Ghana,  (b) Nigeria and  (c) Poland have received indefinite leave to remain in the UK through (i) the 1998 backlog exercise, (ii) the 2003 family indefinite leave to remain exercise, (iii) the legacy exercise, (iv) exceptional leave to remain, (v) discretionary leave to remain, (vi) humanitarian protection and (vii) the grant of refugee status in each year since 1997.

Phil Woolas: Information on the number of nationals from Ghana, Nigeria and Poland who have received indefinite leave to remain in the UK through the 1998 backlog clearance exercise and the 2003 family indefinite leave to remain exercise is as follows. Information on the nationality breakdown of grants of leave to remain under the UKBA's case resolution programme were provided in the response given to the hon. Member on 29 September 2008,  Official Report, columns 2348-49W.
	Information on asylum initial decisions for nationals of Poland for 2005 and 2006 is as follows. Information for previous years and for nationals of Ghana and Nigeria are available from the annual Statistical Bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom.
	Since the accession of Poland to the EU on 1 May 2004 Polish nationals have not been subject to immigration control and have had the ability to exercise EU rights of movement and residence in the UK. Full access to the UK labour market was also provided under the terms of workers registration scheme.
	Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	
		
			  Nationals of Nigeria, Ghana and Poland, granted exceptional leave under the 1998 backlog criteria( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3) , excluding dependants, 1999 and 2000 
			  Principal applicants 
			   Total 
			  Country of nationality  1999  2000 
			 Nigeria 765 290 
			 Ghana 1,415 90 
			 Poland 20 10 
			 (1) Figures rounded to the nearest five. (2) Cases decided under measures aimed at reducing the pre-1996 asylum application backlog. (3) Includes cases where asylum or exceptional leave has been granted under the backlog criteria. 
		
	
	
		
			  Grants of ILR issued under the family ILR exercise as at 7 December 2007( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3) , excluding dependants, for nationals of Nigeria, Ghana and Poland 
			  Country of nationality  Total principal applicants 
			 Nigeria 1,175 
			 Ghana 620 
			 Poland 580 
			 (1) Provisional figures rounded to the nearest five. (2) Main asylum applicants. (3) This information is based on internal management information and therefore provisional. 
		
	
	
		
			  Initial decisions made on asylum applications( 1,)( )( 2) , excluding dependants, 2005 and 2006 for nationals of Poland 
			  Principal applicants 
			  Initial decisions  2005  2006( 3) 
			 Total decisions 10 5 
			 Grants of asylum 0 0 
			 Grants of HP 0 0 
			 Grants of DL 0 0 
			 Total refusals 10 5 
			 (1) Figures rounded to nearest five. (2) Information is of initial decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions. (3) Provisional figures.  Source: RDS-IRS

Asylum

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum claims were decided in each of the last 11 years; how many claims were granted in each of those years; how many dependants were included in those successful claims; how many people were granted extended leave to remain or humanitarian protection in each of those years; how many dependants were included in those grants; how many claimants were refused in each of those years; and how many dependants were included in those refused claims.

Phil Woolas: The following table gives published figures available for the last 11 years.
	Information on asylum is published annually and quarterly. Annual statistics for 2007 and quarterly statistics for 2008 are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	
		
			  Applications( 1,)( )( 2)  received for asylum in the United Kingdom and initial decisions 1997 to 2007 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007( 7) 
			  Including dependants
			 Initial decisions
			 Total 48,530 42,905 45,850 132,925 155,900 103,450 80,370 55,390 33,210 25,475 26,665 
			 Granted asylum 6,210 8,245 10,405 12,135 14,755 10,990 5,380 2,160 2,470 2,630 4,495 
			 Granted exceptional leave to remain, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave(3) 4,740 6,455 4,640 12,645 26,025 22,470 7,805 4,195 2,955 2,410 2,315 
			 Refused asylum, ELR, HP and DL 37,585 28,205 13,915 92,330 115,120 69,990 67,185 49,040 27,780 20,430 19,850 
			 Granted exceptional leave under backlog criteria(4,5) n/a n/a 15,195 14,045 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Refused on non-compliance grounds under backlog criteria(4,6) n/a n/a 1,690 1,775 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 
			  Dependants only
			 Initial decisions
			 Total 12,485 11,335 12,125 23,720 34,955 19,910 15,430 9,370 5,815 4,545 4,890 
			 Granted asylum 2,225 2,900 2,590 1,765 3,310 2,720 1,515 595 530 465 950 
			 Granted exceptional leave to remain, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave(3) 1,625 2,545 2,175 1,150 5,835 2,330 595 200 155 105 120 
			 Refused asylum, ELR, HP and DL 8,640 5,890 2,895 16,650 25,810 14,860 13,320 8,575 5,130 3,975 3,820 
			 Granted exceptional leave under backlog criteria(4,5) n/a n/a 4,055 3,720 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Refused on non-compliance grounds under backlog criteria(4,5) n/a n/a 415 440 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 n/a = not applicable (1) Figures rounded to the nearest five. (2) From 1998 to 2001 dependants figures are estimated. Including dependants who applied with the principal applicant and those who arrived subsequently but before the principal application was decided. Figures from 2002 are based on actual data. (3) Humanitarian protection (HP) and discretionary leave (DL) replaced exceptional leave to remain from 1 April 2003. (4) Cases decided under measures aimed at reducing the pre 1996 asylum application backlog. (5) Includes cases where asylum or exceptional leave has been granted under the backlog criteria. (6) Includes some cases where the application has been refused on substantive grounds. (7) Provisional figures.

Asylum: Iraq

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Iraqis have been granted resettlement in the UK under the Locally Employed Staff Assistance Scheme since its inception.

Phil Woolas: As of 28 October, 123 locally employed staff have been resettled to the UK under the Locally Employed Staff Assistance Scheme since its inception.
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Departmental Conditions of Employment

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of employees in her Department  (a) are on a flexible working contract,  (b) are on a job share employment contract and  (c) work from home for more than four hours per week.

Phil Woolas: Information on the percentage of employees working on flexible working contracts, job share employment contracts or working from home for more than four hours per week is not held centrally. This information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental ICT

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) memory sticks,  (b) laptop computers,  (c) desktop computers,  (d) hard drives and  (e) mobile telephones were (i) lost by and (ii) stolen from her Department in each year since 1997.

Phil Woolas: The table contains the information requested for each year from 2002 to 2008. No information is available for years prior to 2002.
	It should be noted that these figures include equipment lost and stolen from both the core Home Office and the United Kingdom Border Agency.
	
		
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			   Lost  Stolen  Lost  Stolen  Lost  Stolen  Lost  Stolen  Lost  Stolen  Lost  Stolen  Lost  Stolen 
			 Memory sticks 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 0 
			 Laptops 3 12 2 12 3 20 2 24 2 9 7 22 3 14 
			 Desktops 0 15 0 0 0 65 0 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hard drives 0 21 0 39 0 13 0 12 0 0 0 2 0 0 
			 Mobile phones 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 
			  Notes: 1. DSU's recorded figures only go back as far as 2002 and therefore cannot give information from 1997 to 2001. 2. These figures are for core Home Office and UKBA.

Departmental Public Expenditure

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what losses which it incurred her Department was granted Treasury approval in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office has not incurred losses that were in excess of delegated authority in any of the last five years. As such, no Treasury approval was required.

Dungavel Detention Centre

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of individuals held at Dungavel detention centre in each of the last five years had criminal records in respect of offences committed  (a) in the UK and  (b) overseas.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 3 November 2008
	We do not hold this data centrally and to provide them would require each detainee's file to be inspected independently which would be at disproportionate cost. All detainees are, however, risk assessed before being transferred to Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre, which includes a check against the police national computer to highlight criminal records and any other known risk factors.

Genetics: Databases

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what race equality impact assessment has been made of the national DNA database.

Alan Campbell: A stage 1 equality impact assessment (EIA) of the National DNA database (NDNAD) was conducted by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) in June-July 2007. This was an initial screening process to identify any potential equality issues in NDNAD processes. It made a number of recommendations which are being progressed by a working group comprising NPIA officials and representatives from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the NDNAD Ethics Group. It also recommended that the EIA should be reviewed after further information had been gathered in 12 months' time.
	The NPIA also carried out an initial stage 1 equality impact assessment of the ACPO DNA Good Practice Guide in June 2007. The ACPO guide provides good practice guidance for police forces on the use of DNA, including the taking of DNA samples from persons in custody. The stage 1 EIA made 10 recommendations which are also currently under consideration by the working group.
	The working group has met several times since early autumn 2007. It has considered all the recommendations from both stage 1 EIAs and future action required. This consideration initiated the stage 2 EIA review process which is on-going, looking at any potential equality issues which were identified in greater depth. Work on some of the actions has been completed, but work on the majority is still in progress.
	Copies of the two stage 1 assessments have been placed in the Library. It is anticipated that the stage 2 assessments will be available in December 2008. Copies of the stage 2 EIAs will be published on the NPIA website in late 2008 or early 2009.

Immigration

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will bring forward proposals to enable parents of dependent children, where the children are UK citizens and the parents foreign nationals, to work.

Phil Woolas: A parent of a child who is a British citizen is entitled to work in the UK if they have been granted leave on the basis of employment; leave on the basis of their relationship with a British citizen or settled person; leave as a student, provided they work only part-time during term time or full-time during vacations; discretionary leave, refugee status or humanitarian protection; or indefinite leave to remain.
	In addition, an asylum applicant may apply for permission to take up employment if a decision at first instance has not been taken on the applicant's asylum application within one year of the date on which it was recorded. The application to take employment will be considered only if the delay in reaching a decision cannot be attributed to the applicant. If permission to work is granted, this precludes self-employment, business or professional activity.

National Asylum Support Service Policy Bulletin 85

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason the National Asylum Support Service Policy Bulletin 85 does not apply to failed asylum seekers  (a) in receipt of Section 4 support and  (b) without dependent children.

Phil Woolas: Policy Bulletin 85 (Dispersing Asylum Seekers with Health Care Needs) does not apply to supported persons in receipt of support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, because the policy bulletin was published in December 2005, which was before we dispersed those in receipt of section 4 support. Policy Bulletin 85 will be replaced by a new asylum instruction which will cover those in receipt of section 4 support. The new asylum instruction has already been consulted on and the UK Border Agency aims to publish the new instruction before the end of the year.
	The principles set out in Policy Bulletin 85 on health care similarly apply to the dispersal of those granted support under section 4, regardless of whether there are dependants. Information on the dispersal of section 4 supported persons is set out within policy bulletin 31 (Dispersal Guidelines) and in the Section 4 Support Asylum Instruction. Information on health treatment available to refused asylum seekers is set out within the Section 4 "Frequently Asked Questions" guidance document.

Plain English

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department paid to the Plain English Campaign for  (a) corporate membership fees,  (b) additional training for officials,  (c) use of the Approved by Plain English Campaign mark on documents,  (d) use of the Internet Crystal Mark on her Department's website and  (e) other fees in each year since 1997-98.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office has held corporate membership of the Plain English Campaign since 2000 and Life membership since 2006. The following table provides available information on the payments made to the Plain English Campaign since 2000. A more detailed breakdown of expenditure could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Corporate membership  Other 
			 2000-04 (1)14,100 n/a 
			 2004-05 2,350 21,301.49 
			 2005-06 3,525 20,890.32 
			 2006-07 3,525 5,896.03 
			 2007-08 0 1,527.50 
			 n/a = Not available (1) Over the five year period

UK Border Agency: Lost Property

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether compensation is given or dispensation made to an applicant when the UK Border Agency accepts that it has misplaced or lost their file.

Phil Woolas: The UK Border Agency will consider paying compensation for the financial loss of reasonable costs necessarily incurred by an individual as a consequence of documents being lost while being processed by the Agency.

UK Border Agency: Lost Property

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what happens to the case of an applicant when the UK Border Agency accepts that it has permanently lost the applicant's file.

Phil Woolas: The UK Border Agency decides on a case by case basis what measures are required to address any loss of an applicant's file.

UK Border Agency: Lost Property

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many files relating to applications for leave to remain have been lost in transit between units of the UK Border Agency in the last three years.

Phil Woolas: The information is not available in the form requested.
	The UK Border Agency maintains a rolling programme of locating files, and parts of files, which have been identified as lost. On 10 November there were 17,208 principal files recorded as lost which is approximately 0.2 per cent. of the overall file holding.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Airwave Service

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what organisations for which his Department is responsible  (a) use and  (b) are planning to use Airwave handsets.

Huw Irranca-Davies: We are not aware of any organisation for which the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible that  (a) use or  (b) plan to use Airwave handsets.

Animals: Diseases

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Department of Health on the interrelationships between animal and human disease; and what diseases have been discussed.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA and its agencies are involved in many cross government committees which include representatives from the Department of Health (DH) and its agencies. These committees facilitate discussion on human and animal related diseases of both domestic and international importance. This collaboration enables informed decisions to be made regarding planning and control, horizon scanning for new and emerging diseases and the development and implementation of various cross-government strategies.
	Recent collaborations between DEFRA, the DH and their agencies include investigations into the recent outbreak of Avian Influenza in Dorset and Suffolk, co-ordinating West Nile Virus surveillance activities of both humans and wild birds, management of the Salmonella National Control Programme, and developing public health evidence to support current UK tick and tapeworm control measures.
	In response to the October Anthrax incident, DEFRA is working closely with the Health Protection Agency, the DH and local authorities to ensure effective containment measures are in place and subsequent investigations carried out. DEFRA is also collaborating with the Health and Safety Executive on the National Bovine TB strategy, and surveillance of Q-Fever in the UK.

BSE: Disease Control

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department expects to be able to provide a surveillance system to identify bovine spongiform encephalopathies and other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in slaughtered cattle and fallen stock.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA tested over 394,000 cattle for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Great Britain in 2007, including all suspected BSE cases, all fallen stock aged over-24-months and all healthy slaughtered cattle aged over-30-months. This testing identified 53 BSE cases, at a cost of over £55 million. DEFRA has produced a report on BSE surveillance for the Food Standards Agency. The report will be published on the DEFRA website.

Carbon Emissions: Construction

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the environmental effects of actions required to meet the target of building three million new homes by 2020.

Iain Wright: I have been asked to reply.
	The Housing Green Paper 'Homes for the future: more affordable, more sustainable' (published in July 2007) outlined the Government's plans to achieve higher housing supply targets. It also set out a range of actions to address the challenge of climate change and to protect the environment. The Housing Green Paper was subject to an impact assessment, which includes a specific impact test on sustainable development, carbon assessment and other environmental assessments. This was published alongside the Housing Green Paper and its sister documents. These documents have been placed in the House Library.
	It is for regional spatial strategies to determine the appropriate level of housing growth and the best location for it in their region. A sustainability appraisal, incorporating a strategic environmental assessment, is part of the process of preparing regional spatial strategies.

Common Agricultural Policy

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated value was of direct aid under the Common Agricultural Policy in each of the last five years, broken down by product; and by what date this support will be phased out in each case, where applicable.

Jane Kennedy: The European Commission list direct aid amounts as presented in table 1. Only some of this support is coupled, as table 1 makes clear.
	
		
			  Table 1: EU direct aids for budget, 2003 to 2009 
			  € million 
			   2009( 1)  2008( 1)  2007  2006  2005  2004  2003 
			  Decoupled direct aids
			 SPS 28,450 27,220 28,119 14,226 0 0 0 
			 SAPS 3,808 3,065 2,083 1,721 1,449 0 0 
			 Separate sugar payment 255 209 167 0 0 0 0 
			 Separate fruit and vegetables payment 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 
			  Other direct aids
			 Arable Crops 1,850 1,852 1,853 7,951 17,158 17,095 16,251 
			 Beef 1,661 1,659 1,697 2,637 7,730 7,312 7,363 
			 Sheep and Goats 326 335 330 907 1,837 1,471 2,084 
			 Dairy 0 0 0 1,454 1,370 0 0 
			 POSEI 422 418 81 81 185 110 244 
			 Fruit and Veg(2) 429 224 202 255 483 595 544 
			 Sugar 26 30 17 0 0 0 0 
			 Rice 173 171 173 261 427 110 117 
			 Olive groves 98 98 119 2,312 2,240 2,302 2,318 
			 Tobacco 305 293 336 811 918 924 950 
			 Silkworms 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Cotton 262 260 254 0 0 0 0 
			 Payments for specific types of farming and quality production 438 435 420 199 0 0 0 
			 Other (direct aids) — — 761 958 75 0 0 
			 Additional amounts of aid 562 563 434 316 0 0 0 
			 Ancillary direct aids (reliquats, small producers, agrimonetary aids, etc.) 0 0 0 0 4 1 -7 
			 Recoveries 0 0 0 -39 -21 -12 -1 
			 Total 39,077 36,832 37,046 34,051 33,856 29,908 29,864 
			 (1) Data for these years is based on budget commitments, rather than actual spending. (2) Includes starch potatoes and grain legumes.  Source: Draft General Budget 2009, EC. 
		
	
	Agreement has been reached on phasing out several of the remaining coupled payments, with their amounts usually being added to the decoupled SPS and SAPS, such that decoupling is budget neutral. The payments involved and relevant dates are presented in table 2. Decoupling is also a major focus of the current health check negotiations, where agreement is expected to be reached on phasing out several other coupled payments (with their amounts again being added to the SPS and SAPS), with expected phase-outs as presented in table 3. The UK "Vision for the Common Agricultural Policy" is clear that in the longer term, direct payments should be phased out completely, with payments to farmers targeted at delivering public benefits, including environmental benefits, through a re-shaped pillar two.
	
		
			  Table 2: Direct Aids already scheduled to be decoupled (or not scheduled to be decoupled) 
			  Sector  Current situation  When scheduled to be phased out 
			 POSEI (payments for bananas in the outermost regions) 75 per cent. coupled contribution to national assistance programmes for banana growers No end date is fixed for this aid 
			
			 Fruit and vegetables The EU Processed Fruit and Vegetables Regime was subject to major reform in 2007, with agreement reached on a phased approach to full decoupling: Tomatoes for processing: 1 January 2012 
			   Other processing aids: 1 January 2013 
			  Tomatoes for processing—member states may allow a maximum four-year transitional period provided that the coupled element of the payment does not exceed 50 per cent. of the corresponding component of the national ceiling  
			  Other processing aids—member states may allow a maximum five-year transitional period until at the latest 31 December 2012, provided that after 31 December 2010, the coupled proportion of the payment does not exceed 75 per cent. of the corresponding component of the national ceiling in 2011 and 2012 respectively  
			
			 Sugar There are no direct aids in the sugar sector, but there is a transitional fund to help the sugar sector restructure The transitional aid is due to end in 2010 
			  There are also separate sugar payments as part of the Single Payment Scheme  
			
			 Tobacco Progressive reduction in coupled support from 2006 to 2010 2010 
			
			 Silkworms 100 per cent. coupled payment. No end date is fixed for this payment 
			
			 Cotton 65 per cent./35 per cent. split of decoupled/coupled payments Agriculture Council agreed in 2008 to maintain coupled aid payments at these levels 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Health check proposals for decoupling 
			  Sector  Current situation  Health Check proposal 
			 Crops Member states may retain partial coupled payments in: Full decoupling from 2010 and integrate into Single Payment Scheme (SPS) 
			  Arable Crops Payments (up to 25 per cent.)  
			  Durum Wheat Quality Supplement (up to 40 per cent.)  
			  Hops (up to 25 per cent.)  
			  100 per cent. exclusion of certain or all species  
			
			 Olive oil Aid for olive groves could remain up to 40 per cent. coupled Full decoupling in 2010 and integration in SPS 
			
			 Livestock Member States may retain coupled payments in: Slaughter premium for young animals, slaughter premium for adult animals and special beef premium: full decoupling in two steps (50 per cent. coupled in 2010, 50 per cent. coupled in 2011 and 100 per cent. decoupled in 2012 and onwards). Shift to SPS 
			  Suckler Cow Premium (up to 100 per cent.) No change in suckler cow and sheep and goatmeat 
			  Special beef premium (up to 75 per cent.)  
			  Slaughter Premium (up to 40 per cent. for adults and 100 per cent. for calves)  
			  Sheep and Goats (up to 50 per cent.)  
			
			 Flax and Hemp Option of 25 per cent. partial coupling as arable crops area payment. Short fibre flax to be phased out in 2008-09. Long fibre flax to be increased to €40/tonne in 2009-10. Decouple long fibre flax processing aid and shift to SPS in 2 steps: 50 per cent. in 2011 and full decoupling in 2013. 
			
			 Dried Fodder Retain processing aid (per tonne, uniform for dehydrated and dried fodder) Decouple processing aid and shift to SPS in 2011 
			
			 Starch potato Aid for starch producers (60 per cent. of pre-2003 level) paid per tonne of starch delivered. A transformation aid is granted to the manufacturers per tonne of potato starch with guaranteed minimum prices within the quota limit. Finally, production refunds for starch are granted when using starch for the production of certain goods Decouple aid to growers and shift to SPS (phasing out in 2013, in two steps: 50 per cent. in 2011 and full decoupling in 2013); decouple processing aid and shift to SPS in 2011; removal of quotas by 2013; abolish production refund in 2009 
			
			 Energy crop premium Aid of EUR 45 per hectare for energy crops for the production of biofuels and electric and thermal energy produced from biomass Abolish in 2010 
			
			 Durum Wheat Aid of EUR 40 per hectare, granted subject to the use of certain quantities of certified seeds of varieties recognised as being of high quality for the production of semolina or pasta Abolition and shift to SPS in 2010 
			
			 Protein crops Aid of EUR 55, 57 per hectare of protein crops (peas, field beans, lupins) Decouple and shift into SPS in 2010 
			
			 Specific payment for rice Aid per hectare, the value set according to the yields in the member states concerned Decouple and shift to SPS (50 per cent. in 2010 and further 50 per cent. in 2012) 
			
			 Nuts Aid per hectare granted to farmers producing nuts, with a possibility of granting additional national aid Decouple and shift to SPS in 2010 
			 Single Area Payment Scheme (SAPS) New member states have to change to SPS by 2010-11 Prolong possibility of applying SAPS until end 2013

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what sanctions are available in cases of departmental staff found to have committed disciplinary offences; and how many times each has been used in each of the last three years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Civil Service Management Code sets out the requirements for Departments to have procedures in place to deal with conduct and disciplinary issues. The DEFRA procedures are laid down in the staff handbook which is accessed on the departmental intranet. The sanctions available to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are as follows:
	Written reprimand;
	Written warnings;
	Denial of pay award or reduction in pay;
	Payment in restitution, in whole or in part;
	Culpable loss or damage caused by the offender;
	Suspension of pay;
	Loss of seniority;
	Ban on promotion or consideration for promotion, including temporary additional responsibility allowance (TARA), for a specific period;
	Downgrading, includes removal from a post attracting additional pay or allowances;
	Transfer to a new location;
	Dismissal.
	The number of times that the aforementioned sanctions have been confirmed in the last three financial years are listed as follows. The dismissal sanction represents the final outcome of disciplinary action taken in an individual misconduct case.
	
		
			  Sanction  Number 
			  1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006  
			 Dismissals 6 
			 Written reprimands 1 
			   
			  1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007  
			 Dismissals 6 
			 Written reprimands 1 
			 Written warnings 2 
			 Transfer to new location 1 
			   
			  1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008  
			 Dismissals 2 
			 Written warnings 1

Departmental ICT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what IT projects  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies is undertaking; and what the most recent estimate of (i) the cost and (ii) the completion date of each is.  [Official Report, 27 March 2009, Vol. 490, c. 5MC.]

Huw Irranca-Davies: The following table details current major IT projects in DEFRA and its largest executive agencies, the Rural Payments Agency and Animal Health.
	The projects detailed are those which cost more than £1 million over the life of the project. Costs listed as follows exclude day-to-day running costs after the completion of the project.
	Projects costing less than £1 million and those within smaller Executive Agencies have been excluded as data collection for these would incur a disproportionate cost to the Department to compile.
	
		
			  Project  Expected completion date  Estimated costs £ 
			 Animal Health Business Reform Programme March 2011 98,000,000 
			 Cap Health Check Implementation Programme November 2009 25,300,000 
			 Customer Land Database (CLAD) October 2009 1,730,600 
			 Enabling Technology March 2009 4,223,000 
			 INSPIRE/UK Location Strategy Implementation Programme December 2012 12,800,000 
			 Renew IT March 2009 3,810,000 
			 Rural Payments Agency Managed Document Service March 2009 2,300,000 
			 Rural Payments Agency Rural Land Register Upgrade March 2012 23,000,000 
			 Rural Payments Agency Single Payment System Upgrade (including CAP Health Check) November 2009 23,700,000 
			 Rural Payments Agency Storage Servers Upgrade March 2010 3,400,000 
			 Spatial Information Repository (SPIRE) August 2009 14,965,000 
			 Web Rationalisation March 2011 1,440,000 
			 Whole Farm Approach March 2011 74,000,000

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of provision of Government cars to special advisers in his Department has been in the last 12 months.

Huw Irranca-Davies: On most occasions, special advisers travel in the same cars as Ministers or departmental officials, and it is not possible to disaggregate the costs of their car travel, since records are not kept of who travelled in which car. The total cost of provision of government cars to special advisers when travelling on official business on their own was £387.08 in the past 12 months.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost to his Department of provision of office facilities to  (a) special advisers and  (b) press officers (i) was in the last 12 months and (ii) has been since 1997-98.

Huw Irranca-Davies: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However I can confirm that all ministerial advisers and press officers work within the provisions set out in the code of conduct for special advisers and the civil service code respectively.

Departmental Recruitment

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its executive agencies spent on (i) recruitment consultants and (ii) external recruitment advertising to recruit staff in each of the last five financial years; which recruitment consultants were employed for those purposes in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Any expenditure on recruitment consultants and on external recruitment advertising is subject to value for money considerations and the requirements of Managing Public Money. The central rules on recruitment are set out in Chapter 1.1 of the Civil Service Management Code. There is a central framework of executive search services owned by the Cabinet Office. This framework provides access to the most effective recruitment agencies and provides value for money through a single Government wide contract.
	Work is currently under way to improve further the efficiency of civil service recruitment through better use of online advertising; reductions in recruitment advertising costs for the whole civil service; improving value for money from head-hunters and recruitment consultants; and a professional development programme to improve further the skills and knowledge of HR recruiters.

Emerge Recycling

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department and its agencies has given to Emerge Recycling in the last 24 months.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 4 November 2008
	 In the last 24 months Emerge recycling have received approximately £30,000 under the WRAP Batteries Programme which ran from April 2006 to April 2008.

Flood Control: Finance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on flood defences in each of the last five years.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 6 November 2008
	DEFRA provides funding to operating authorities for flood defences from the allocation of funding for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management. Over the past five financial years this allocation totalled:
	
		
			  Financial year  DEFRA funding (£ million) 
			 2007-08 502.7 
			 2006-07 505.2 
			 2005-06 514.8 
			 2004-05 415.8 
			 2003-04 135.5

Lighting

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of light bulbs used in his Department are energy-saving models.

Huw Irranca-Davies: holding answer 5 November 2008
	 The Department is continually improving the energy saving measures employed within its departmental buildings. Across the Department's London offices it is estimated that in excess of 95 per cent. of lighting is of an energy saving design. In our principal office locations in York and Alnwick, all internal office lighting is of an energy saving design. As to the wider provincial offices, the exact percentage of energy saving lighting is unknown.

Religious Buildings: Fees and Charges

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Warley of 9 October 2008,  Official Report, column 760W, on waste charges: religious buildings, 
	(1)  whether an impact assessment was undertaken to assess the effect of the new water charges on places of worship and other voluntary group's premises;
	(2)  what the average increase to the water bill for churches and other places of worship is.

Jane Kennedy: Neither DEFRA nor Ofwat, the independent economic regulator of the water industry, collects information on the increases in water bills for groups of customers of a particular funding or charitable status. Where a company makes a change to the way it charges for water or sewerage services, Ofwat challenges the company's proposals to make sure charges are not unduly preferential to one customer group over another. Groups of customers are defined by the costs they are likely to impose and are independent of the financial or charitable status of individual non-household customers. Ofwat's checks also ensure that the company gains no additional revenue from the new method of charging.

Waste Management

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many deregistrations there were under the provisions of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 following offences under regulation 19 in each of the last 15 years.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 5 November 2008
	The Environment Agency has de-registered 2,188 exemptions concerning paragraph 19 (waste for construction) of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 over the period requested. Exemptions may be de-registered for a number of reasons including where the commission of an offence means that the operation is no longer exempt.
	
		
			  Period  
			  From  To  De-registered 
			 1April 2008 31 October 2008 57 
			 1 April 2007 31 March 2008 64 
			 1 April 2006 31 March 2007 405 
			 1 April 2005 31 March 2006 465 
			 1 April 2004 31 March 2005 190 
			 1 April 2003 31 March 2004 233 
			 1 April 2002 31 March 2003 49 
			 1 April 2001 31 March 2002 54 
			 1 April 2000 31 March 2001 624 
			 1 April 1999 31 March 2000 0 
			 1 April 1998 31 March 1999 5 
			 1 April 1997 31 March 1998 11 
			 1 April 1996 31 March 1997 9 
			 1 April 1995 31 March 1996 22 
			 1 April 1994 31 March 1995 0 
			 Total — 2,188

Water: Fees and Charges

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average percentage change in domestic water bills has been in each local authority area in the East of England since May 1997.

Jane Kennedy: Average bill information is not available at local authority level.

Wetlands: Flood Control

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent work his Department has undertaken on the role of wetlands in flood defence.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA and the Environment Agency operate a joint R and D programme. Within this programme various studies have been made of the role of land management, including wetlands, on flood risk management. Most notably, my Department published the finding of a major review of the impacts of rural land use and management on flood generation in November 2004. Subsequently, further work was commissioned on the analysis of historical data sets to look for the impacts of land use and management change on flood generation. The final report will be published in the near future. The Environment Agency takes into account the role that washlands or wetlands may play in flood management when it is considering specific flood management problems.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa: Economic Growth

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effects of African revenue authorities' administration on business and economic growth.

Ivan Lewis: During 2005 to 2007, DFID and the World Bank group's Foreign Investment Advisory Service (FIAS) evaluated how tax policy and its administration shaped the investment climate in 13 countries in Africa and the middle east. This indicated that tax policy and administration do not enable business and promote growth in most developing countries. Even in the countries which have in place appropriate taxes at appropriate rates, weak tax administration results in a heavy financial and time burden for businesses, especially for small and medium enterprises.
	The studies, which were endorsed by a DFID/FIAS supported conference in Zambia in February 2007 of senior officials from Africa, showed that past donor assistance on tax had too often been fragmented between policy and administration. Tax reform had tended to focus on short-term revenue generation rather than structuring the tax system to promote economic efficiency and growth (and therefore longer-term revenue generation). This requires promoting investment, private sector development and the creation of a culture of compliance. DFID and FIAS have now initiated a project to help address such problems, by developing and piloting best practice policy guidance and support for implementation.

Africa: International Assistance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Africa Investment Climate Facility.

Ivan Lewis: The Investment Climate Facility (ICF) is a novel partnership between private companies, development partners and Governments to improve the investment climate in African countries. An independent review of ICF will be conducted in 2009.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) has closely followed the development of the organisation through the Technical Advisory Committee and Annual Meetings. DFID has also seconded a senior official to work in the ICF Secretariat. ICF has quickly become effective in building up its project portfolio. The Board has approved 20 projects but it is too early to assess effectiveness fully. Recently, the ICF published its first Project Completion Report. The project created a productive dialogue between businesses, the East African Community and customs authorities in East Africa. Many of the project's recommendations for customs reforms have been implemented, leading to significant reductions in delays and costs to businesses in importing and exporting goods.

Bangladesh: Overseas Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department has taken to improve the competitiveness of businesses in Bangladesh.

Michael Foster: The UK Government are providing £20 million to the Bangladesh Investment Climate Facility (BICF) to assist the Government's Regulatory Reforms Commission and Better Business Forum, to improve this business environment and reduce costs. For example, there has recently been a 50 per cent. reduction to the costs of registering a business due to BICF inputs. We are also working with the Government of Bangladesh and the World Bank to help set up large economic zones that will provide businesses with cheaper access to land serviced with a constant supply of utilities such as electricity.
	In the export sector, Bangladesh needs to remain competitive with other producers in the Asia region. Therefore, the UK has been promoting social compliance standards, like health and safety concerns in the garments sector, to enable Bangladesh businesses to meet the standards required by U.S. and European buyers.
	Finally, the UK is providing £11.8 million to Katalyst (Phase I), an organisation whose purpose is to increase the competitiveness of local micro, small, and medium enterprises in key urban and rural sectors in Bangladesh. By 2009, the Katalyst project will have contributed to the creation of 180,000 jobs through its work on making 800,000 farms and businesses more competitive. By 2015, Phase 2 of the project is projected to benefit 1.2 million enterprises and commercial farms—employing three million people in 26 sectors.

Cambodia

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the public financial management reform programme in Cambodia.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) participates annually in the joint Government-donor review of the public financial management reform programme, with the most recent taking place in May 2008. Issues relating to public financial management also form part of the IMF's Article IV consultations and are a central feature of policy dialogue with budget support donors. These require regular reporting from Government and ongoing monitoring by development partners, including DFID.
	Since 2005, reform of public financial management has already delivered significant improvements in terms of revenue management and budget credibility. Tax revenues continue to grow, with a 37 per cent. increase during the first three quarters of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007; revenue out-turn up to September 2008 is 99 per cent. of budget forecast (compared to 85 per cent. in 2007); and Government have spent 72 per cent. of their budget in the first three quarters of 2008 (compared to 62 per cent. in 2007). In December, the Government will launch a second phase of the programme. This will build on these successes and provide additional focus to financial management in line ministries. It will also address outstanding issues from the first phase, including the integration of recurrent and capital budgets, and strengthen the links between planning, budgeting and expenditure.

Departmental Buildings

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 101-102W, on departmental buildings, what the cost of each refurbishment was.

Douglas Alexander: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Country office  Place  Classification  Completed  Cost (£) 
			 DFID Pakistan Islamabad New build and refurbishment May 2006 2,450,000 
			 DFID Ethiopia Addis Ababa New build September 2006 3,350,000 
			 DFID Sudan Khartoum New build and refurbishment November 2007 2,700,00 
			 DFID Afghanistan Kabul New build August 2006 1,100,000 
			 DFID Uganda Kampala New build December 2007 3,950,000 
			 DFID Nigeria Kano Refurbishment October 2006 122,000 
			 DFID Nigeria Abuja Refurbishment July 2008 297,000 
			 DFID Indonesia Jakarta Refurbishment July 2008 47,000

Developing Countries: Construction

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of work undertaken in relation to developing countries by the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative.

Gareth Thomas: The Construction Sector Transparency (CoST) initiative was launched in Tanzania on 22 May 2008. It is too early at this stage to evaluate the effectiveness of this initiative. A series of baseline studies will be initiated in each pilot country providing a basis against which the effectiveness of CoST will be assessed.
	Progress has been made in the set up of CoST. An international secretariat has been appointed and is now working with seven countries to establish local multi-stakeholder groups—including Government, private sector and civil society—which will then agree and take forward country work programmes. The Governments of Ethiopia, Malawi, Philippines, Tanzania, United Kingdom, Vietnam and Zambia have all committed to implement the pilot programme. The World Bank and Secretariat are active in providing technical support to these CoST countries. An International Advisory Group (IAG), made up of representatives from CoST countries, international NGOs, construction companies, and professional organisations as well as DFID and the World Bank has been set up to review outcomes of the pilot programme. The first meeting of the IAG will be held in Manila, Philippines in January 2009.

Developing Countries: Economic Growth

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when the study by the School of Oriental and African Studies of the governance capabilities and reforms that facilitate high growth over a long period will be published.

Michael Foster: Professor Mushtaq Khan from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) is undertaking a research programme entitled Growth and Governance Research. The first part of the report is due in mid-November 2008 and the subsequent parts of this research will be reported on in 2009. Each of the reports will appear on the Department for International Development's (DFID) Research for Development portal:
	http://www.research4development.info/

Developing Countries: Medical Treatments

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the country pilots launched by the Medicines Transparency Alliance on increasing transparency and accountability in the medicines supply chain.

Ivan Lewis: The Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) was launched by the Secretary of State on 15 May 2008. It is too early at this stage to evaluate the effectiveness of this initiative. Scoping reports that informed the design of MeTA, and a series of baseline studies now being initiated in each country, will provide a basis against which the effectiveness of MeTA can be judged at the end of the pilot phase. Effectiveness will be measured in terms of increased transparency and accountability around the price, availability, quality and promotion of medicines.
	Progress has been made in implementing MeTA. An international secretariat has been appointed and is now working with seven countries to establish local multi-stakeholder groups—including Government, private sector and civil society—which will then agree and take forward country work programmes. The Philippines is already implementing MeTA and launch dates have been set in Ghana, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan and Peru. Work continues with Uganda and Zambia to finalise their plans. The World Bank and World Health Organisation are active in providing technical support to MeTA countries. And the first meeting of the International Advisory Group was successfully held in London in September. It was attended by representatives from the MeTA countries and leading figures from international NGOs, pharmaceutical companies, professional organisations, investors and international development partners.
	Further information on MeTA can be found at
	www.medicinestransparency.org.

Developing Countries: Natural Resources

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made through the United Nations in establishing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative as a global standard.

Gareth Thomas: In September 2008, at the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly, a resolution was passed by consensus calling on all member states to "Strengthen Transparency in Industries", in which the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was noted as a key voluntary initiative for increasing transparency within the extractive industries.
	The UK co-sponsored the resolution, in collaboration with other UN member states, and played a leading role in supporting the Government of Azerbaijan to table the resolution and negotiate the text with member states.
	Commitment to the EITI continues to expand globally. It now has 23 implementing countries and is supported by developed countries, international and domestic companies and civil society organisations in both the North and the South.

Developing Countries: Politics and Government

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Governance and Transparency Fund in the development of accountability mechanisms between citizens and Governments in developing countries.

Ivan Lewis: Implementation of the 38 programmes being supported through the Governance and Transparency Fund has only recently begun. We do not, as yet, have any project reports on which to base assessments. However, development of accountability mechanisms between citizens and Governments is central to the fund and is an area which future reports will focus on.

Developing Countries: Politics and Government

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many countries are receiving money from the Governance and Transparency Fund in 2008-09.

Ivan Lewis: 38 programmes are being funded through the Governance and Transparency Fund. These programmes are supporting activities in over 100 countries worldwide.

Human Rights: Women

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial support his Department has provided to UNIFEM's regional programme on Empowering Women Migrant Workers in Asia in each of the last five years.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development's (DFID) contribution to UNIFEM's regional programme on Empowering Women Migrant Workers in Asia began in 2005. By calendar year the sums disbursed have been:
	
		
			  Calendar year  Sums disbursed (£) 
			 2005 1,170,656 
			 2006 130,000 
			 2007 589,108 
			 2008 321,120 
		
	
	DFID also provides about £3 million a year to UNIFEM centrally as core funding.

India: Children

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of out-of-school children there were in India in  (a) 2006 and  (b) 2007.

Michael Foster: On the basis of Government of India reporting and an independent study, it is estimated that there were :  (a) 13.4 million children aged six to 14 years out of school in academic year 2005/06; and  (b) 7.5 million children aged six to 14 years out of school in academic year 2006/07.

India: HIV Infection

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made in reducing the incidence of HIV and AIDS in India among  (a) women,  (b) men who have sex with men,  (c) injecting drug users,  (d) sex workers and  (e) prisoners.

Michael Foster: HIV incidence data are difficult to collect on a large scale. According to India's National AIDS Commission, the HIV prevalence rate among women in India fell from 0.36 per cent. in 2002 and 0.27 per cent. in 2007, showing good progress in containing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the general population. In the same five-year period, the Department for International Development (DFID) contributed over £69 million towards halting the AIDS epidemic in India, working both with Government and directly with civil society
	HIV prevalence data for specific high-risk groups only became available India-wide in 2006. The National AIDS Commission reports prevalence among sex workers of 4.9 per cent. in 2006 and 5.1 per cent. in 2007; among injecting drug users of 6.9 per cent. in 2006 and 7.2 per cent. in 2007; and among men who have sex with men of 6.4 per cent. in 2006 and 7.4 per cent. in 2007. No disaggregated data are currently available nationwide on prisoners. DFID's support to the National AIDS Control Programme III began in 2007 and emphasises targeted interventions for high-risk groups.

India: HIV Infection

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department has provided to the BBC World Service for campaigns to counter HIV and AIDS in India in each of the last five years.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) provided the following funding to the BBC World Service Trust between 2003 and 2008 for HIV and AIDS campaigns supporting the Government of India's national AIDS control programme:
	
		
			   £ 
			  Financial year  Amount funded 
			 2003-04 505,167 
			 2004-05 1,438,693 
			 2005-06 2,928,106 
			 2006-07 1,920,279 
			 2007-08 223,850

India: Overseas Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent to tackle HIV and AIDS in India in each of the last five years.

Michael Foster: The Department for International's (DFID) country programme in India spent the following on tackling HIV and AIDS in the each of the last five years:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2003-04 5,523,054 
			 2004-05 11,139,692 
			 2005-06 21,462,197 
			 2006-07 28,670,852 
			 2007-08 27,432,842 
		
	
	In addition, DFID's multilateral funding to such institutions as UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNFPA and the World Bank supports a range of HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment and care activities in India, as does the support channelled centrally to civil society organisations.

India: Overseas Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has provided to the Indian Network of Positive People living with HIV and AIDS in each of the last five years.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) provided £217,215 to the Indian Network of Positive People living with HIV and AIDS between February 2006 and March 2007. The purpose was to enhance the contribution of people living with AIDS in national efforts to halt the HIV epidemic in India.
	In addition, DFID is currently supporting the Global Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS to (i) develop its institutional capacity and involve its global and regional networks in designing and implementing AIDS programmes at country level and (ii) strengthen civil society nationally to deliver informed, evidence-based HIV and AIDS advocacy. Some of this support benefits the Indian Network of Positive People living with HIV and AIDS.

India: Overseas Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has provided for the delivery of water and other urban services in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bhopal in 2008-09; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that expenditure.

Michael Foster: During 2008-09 the Department for International Development (DFID) has provided funds for the improvement of urban services as follows: Kolkata, £6.76 million; Bhopal, £0.44 million; no funds have been provided in Hyderabad this year. The effectiveness of the project expenditure is formally reviewed on an annual basis by DFID staff in conjunction with Government partners.
	The latest annual reviews of each of the projects have projected that they will be successful. Household surveys in West Bengal show that the percentage of the urban poor has reduced from 33 per cent. in 1998 to 18 per cent. in 2006, with the rate of decline being faster in the project municipalities. Property tax receipts, the primary source of municipal revenue, have increased by between 11 and 14 per cent. as a result of improved tax collection procedures. Policy achievements include the introduction of new state legislation mandating that 25 per cent. of municipal revenues are spent on poor people. Development plans for the further improvement of basic services have been prepared on the basis of community priorities in each of the project municipalities and are now under implementation.

India: Overseas Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's expenditure on elementary education in India in increasing access to such education.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) jointly assesses the effectiveness of its expenditure on elementary education in India on a six-monthly basis with its partners, the Government of India, the Governments of the country's 35 states and union territories, the World Bank and the European Commission. The findings of these joint reviews are in the public domain and available on the Government of India's SSA website at:
	ssa@nic.in
	Progress has been largely positive. Highlights include a reduction of out-of-school children aged between 6 and 14 years in India from 25 million in 2003-04 to 4.5 million in 2007-08; the construction of over 250,000 new elementary over the last six years; the distribution of 160 million free textbooks annually; and special programmes to get girls and the most disadvantaged children into school. DFID's current support to SSA has a strong focus on improving the quality of education, where substantial progress is required.

India: Overseas Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's expenditure on reproductive and child health in India.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) jointly assesses the effectiveness of its expenditure towards the Government of India's Reproductive and Child Health II Programme (2005-2011) on a six-monthly basis with its partners, the Government of India, selected state governments, the World Bank and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The findings of these reviews are in the public domain and are available from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare:
	http://mohfw.nic.in/
	Provisional data from the 2008 district level household survey show improvement in some critical indicators of maternal and child health, in particular a sharp rise since 2005 in child immunisation rates and the proportion of births taking place in health facilities, as well as a steady increase in the percentage of children breastfed within one hour of birth. However, overall India remains off track to meet the millennium development goals for maternal mortality and child mortality.

Indonesia: Overseas Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the results of the £25 million joint venture between his Department and the Indonesian Government.

Michael Foster: The Multi-Stakeholder Forestry programme (MFP) in Indonesia ran from 2000 to 2007. The aim of the programme was to improve the rights of local communities to forest resources and reduce illegal logging. Independent evaluations of the project's impact on illegal logging, poverty, community forestry and conflict were conducted and published in 2006. A final project completion report published in 2007 gave the project the highest achievable rating. Further information can be obtained on the DFID website:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/casestudies/files/asia/indonesia-forestry-democracy.asp.
	The project resulted in Government better realising their obligations to forest communities, including the passing of 70 local-government decrees on community-based forest management in project areas. In the 300 project sites, covering 2.25 million hectares of forest, local people now have more economic opportunities and higher-value markets for their products. In Sulawesi, MFP support for a forest certification scheme means communities now get 11 times more for their timber than previously. Research by the projects' civil-society partners brought about a presidential decree on illegal logging.

International Assistance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made on the millennium development goal  (a) to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty and hunger,  (b) to ensure all children receive primary education,  (c) on gender equality,  (d) on infant mortality,  (e) on maternal health,  (f) to combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases,  (g) to improve environmental sustainability and  (h) to build a global partnership for development.

Ivan Lewis: The official assessment of progress towards the millennium development goals (MDGs) is made by United Nations (UN) each year. The latest assessment can be found in the UN's annual report "The Millennium Development Goals Report 2008", published in September 2008. This report is available at:
	http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2008/MDG_Report_2008_En.pdf

Jordan: Overseas Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department is providing to the Jordan Family Protection Project in 2008-09.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) provided £2 million to the Jordan Family Protection Project between 2000-05. DFID closed its programme in Jordan in 2005, in line with its aim to increasingly focus on the poorest countries, and therefore will not be funding the project in 2008-09. The British embassy in Amman is funding a training course for the Family Protection Project in 2008-09 with a budget of £6,500.

Lesotho: Overseas Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department is providing to entrepreneurs in Lesotho in 2008-09.

Ivan Lewis: Through the Lesotho Priority Support Programme, the Department for International Development (DFID) is supporting a variety of Government and private sector institutions to deliver services and products to entrepreneurs in Lesotho. These include:
	1. A 'One Stop Shop' facility—reducing paperwork for entrepreneurs to license their businesses as well as reducing time in issuing import permits (down from four days to 1.5 days) and export permits (down from two/three days to five hours);
	2. Developing and disseminating, in Lesotho and abroad, 6,500 copies of the 'Doing Business in Lesotho' guide. This provides comprehensive information for domestic and foreign entrepreneurs on establishing a business;
	3. Carrying out a needs assessment of 610 small businesses in Lesotho to help develop more relevant and tailored support from Government and donors;
	4. Providing support and training to the Basotho Enterprise Development Corporation (BEDCO) on their Small and Medium Enterprise White Paper. BEDCO now has a strategic plan and is improving the effectiveness of 'business incubators' it manages;
	5. Providing further support to BEDCO to collate and disseminate a catalogue of business development service providers for small businesses; and
	6. Developing and disseminating 5,000 copies of an HIV and Aids Guide, 16,000 pamphlets and 5,000 posters to support workplace HIV and Aids programmes.

Nepal: Overseas Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department has taken to develop roads, agriculture and community forestry for poor excluded people in Nepal.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has spent just over £75 million on roads, agriculture and community forestry in Nepal since 2000. All these programmes were targeted at poor and excluded groups.
	Over 1,060 kilometres of rural roads have been built by poor local people, with wages paid for by DFID. Our support to Helvetas has built 163 new footbridges bringing 371,000 people closer to markets, schools and health clinics. DFID has spent £47 million on these investments since 2002.
	DFID's Agriculture Perspective Plan Support Programme has supported poor and excluded groups in some of the most remote districts to improve farm production and the marketing of farm products. The programme has improved the incomes of over 500,000 people, lifting 87,500 people out of poverty since 2002 at a cost of £147 per person.
	The Livelihoods and Forestry Programme (LFP) has been credited as an international example of good practice in community forestry supporting community forest user groups that have reached 460,000 Nepalese households, or 10 per cent. of the total population. In 2007-08, LFP user groups generated £730,000 (Rs 90 million) from the sale of their own forest products to pay for improved local services and created 1.67 million person days of local employment managing community forests—equivalent to about 5,500 full-time jobs. More significantly the community forestry model developed with DFID support has spread across the country. 40 per cent. of households are involved nationally and many disadvantaged groups have been empowered by their involvement (see LFP case study) creating over six million days of employment for poor people per year.

Nepal: Overseas Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has provided to  (a) health and  (b) education programmes in Nepal in each of the last 10 years.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development has provided £23,822,790 to education in the last 10 years; and £65, 157, 422 in health over the same period. The combined spend on health and education in the last 10 years is £88,980,212.

Nepal: Politics and Government

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports he has received of the outcome of the 2007 talks between the Janajati Federation and the Nepal Government on increasing the political representation of excluded people in Nepal.

Michael Foster: Talks between the Government of Nepal and the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) resulted in a 20-point agreement reached on 7 August 2007. The Indigenous Nationalities Joint Struggle Committee, which was backing the Janajati (indigenous communities), also signed the agreement.
	The agreement required political parties to ensure proportional inclusion of all castes and Janajatis while nominating candidates for the election to the Constituent Assembly (CA). Other important provisions of the agreement include: creation of a state restructuring commission, official recognition for local languages other than Nepali, and the ratification of International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention no. 169.
	The agreement plus changes in the electoral law led to a reservation of some CA seats for Janajatis. As a result, Janajatis account for 35 per cent. of the total membership (601 seats), which also corresponds to their share in the population. This is an improvement over the representation of Janajatis in the previous Parliament elected in 1999, which included 25 per cent. Janajati MPs.
	The ILO convention no. 169 has been ratified in the meantime but the Government have yet to form the agreed state restructuring commission.

Nigeria

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of progress made in Nigeria in  (a) improving the management of oil revenues,  (b) strengthening systems of formal accountability and  (c) increasing non- oil-related economic growth since 2002.

Ivan Lewis: The information is as follows.
	 (a) Nigeria has made good progress in improving the management of its oil revenues since the restoration of civilian rule in 1999. In 2004 the Government introduced an oil price based fiscal rule (OPBFR) which was given legal force within the federal-level Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) of 2007. The FRA provides a framework for fiscal management and institutionalises reforms intended to enhance fiscal transparency, accountability and medium-term fiscal sustainability. All oil revenue above a predetermined threshold has been held in a special excess crude account (ECA). Application of the OPBFR rule has led to considerable budget surpluses and quick accumulation of foreign currency reserves, which currently amount to over US$60 billion, covering more than 30 months of imports. Debt management has also improved greatly. In 2006, Nigeria used US$18 billion of its oil savings to settle its Paris Club debt obligations, leading to a public debt to GDP ratio of 12.5 per cent. of GDP in 2007. This is lower than the 34 per cent. median for countries with the same sovereign credit risk rating of BB-. External debt is now only 16 per cent. of total stock, most of this being multilateral debt contracted on concessional terms.
	Oil accounts for over 90 per cent. of total government revenues. Since 1999, approximately half of all revenues go to the federal Government and the rest to state and local governments. Under Nigeria's constitution, states have considerable autonomy. A major challenge to further improving fiscal policy in Nigeria is incentivising states to adopt sound public financial management policies, despite pressure to spend the increased revenues from higher oil prices, and building states' capacity to implement the necessary reforms.
	 (b) In addition to the aforementioned reforms, Nigeria has also taken significant steps to strengthen its systems of accountability. It is now a global leader in the extractive industries transparency initiative (EITI), which aims to generate greater transparency in the flow of revenues from extractive industries. The Nigerian EITI (NEITI) successfully completed a full physical, process and financial audit of the oil and gas sector for the period 1999 to 2004. The 2005 audit is almost complete. In 2007, Nigeria became the first country to enact the EITI into legalisation. Further work is needed to institutionalise NEITI, and enforce the NEITI Act. Nigeria is also taking steps to improve the transparency and efficiency of its budget process, including the development of medium term sector strategies within a medium term economic framework. Progress on institutionalising budget reforms has been slow due to resistance from political interests, poor co-ordination, and weak capacity. Public procurement legislation was recently introduced, which aims to improve the transparency and effectiveness of public expenditure. Implementation and enforcement of this legislation could be impeded by weak capacity in ministries.
	 (c) Non-oil growth to generate employment and raise incomes is a priority of the Nigerian Government. The non-oil sector provides the majority of livelihoods, mostly in agriculture, and is currently contributing strongly to overall growth. The IMF estimates that non-oil growth in 2007 was 9.6 per cent., compared to annual averages of 7.8 per cent. across all sectors for 2004 to 2007, and just 2 per cent. between 1980 and 2002. Agriculture, construction, telecommunications, transportation, retail and wholesale have all grown strongly. However, despite the strong response of the non-oil sector to reforms to date, major challenges remain. Nigeria is ranked 118 out of 181 countries in the World Bank Doing Business 2009 survey, and Nigeria's huge infrastructure gap must be addressed if the economy is to fully realise its growth potential. Non-oil exports grew by 30 per cent. in 2007 but still represent just 2 per cent. of total exports and consist mainly of primary agricultural commodities. The recent strong performance of the telecommunication and financial sectors demonstrate their growth potential once regulatory frameworks are established and macroeconomic conditions are favourable.

Overseas Aid

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how the United Kingdom has met its commitments to deliver the millennium development Goals (MDGs); and if he will place in the Library a copy of the addresses he made during the special United Nations General Assembly session on the MDGs in September 2008.

Douglas Alexander: The UK is fully committed to meeting the millennium development goals (MDGs) and is on track to meet the UN target of spending 0.7 per cent. of gross national income (GNI) on official development assistance (ODA) by 2015.
	Important progress has been made towards the MDGs, but there is still a long way to go. At the half-way mark to 2015, the UN High Level Event (HLE) last month in New York provided an opportunity to strengthen the commitment of the international community, including the private sector and foundations, to the MDGs. The UN Secretary General (UN SG) announced commitments of $16 billion at the closing plenary of the event. Of these commitments, the UK estimates that at least $11.5 billion represents new commitments (for education, malaria, health and food security) but we are waiting for the UN to confirm these figures with member states and other stakeholders.
	Further information on how the UK has met its MDG commitments is available online:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/mdg/progress-07.asp.
	Going forward we must ensure the commitments made at the UN HLE are delivered. The next major international meeting will be in Doha where the international community will come together to review progress on financing for development.
	I did not address the UN General Assembly on the MDGs in September. The Prime Minister did however and his speech can be found on the No. 10 website:
	http://www.number10.gov.uk/.

Overseas Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial support his Department has provided to  (a) the United Nations Children's Fund,  (b) the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and  (c) the United Nations Development Fund for Women in 2008-09.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development's (DFID) planned core contributions to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in 2008-09 are detailed as follows.
	
		
			  DFID's planned core contributions to UNICEF, UNHCR and UNIFEM in 2008-09 
			  Organisation  2008-09 (£ million) 
			 UNICEF 16.0 
			 UNHCR 19.0 
			 UNIFEM 3.0

Overseas Aid: Natural Resources

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in each year since 2002.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) has provided to date a total of £8.45 million over the last six years to support the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) globally.
	The yearly break down of expenditure is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2002 37,896 
			 2003 129,695 
			 2004 3,077,358 
			 2005 1,122,370 
			 2006 1,999,860 
			 2007 1,502,163 
			 2008 582,522

Overseas Aid: Politics and Government

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has provided to the Rights, Democracy and Inclusion Fund.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development has disbursed £1,054,690 to the Rights, Democracy and Inclusion Fund (RDIF) against a total commitment of £1,362,335.

Overseas Aid: Water

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many water wells his Department has funded in each year since 1997; how much this programme has cost, broken down by country; and what estimate he has made of the number of lives that have been saved as a result.

Ivan Lewis: Over the last six years the Department for International Development (DFID) has provided £775 million for water supply and sanitation programmes. It is estimated that these programmes have resulted in 25 million people gaining access to these basic services. It is not possible to disaggregate data on our funding specifically for water wells, nor accurately to estimate how many lives have been saved directly.
	A detailed breakdown of DFID support for the water sector over the last five years can be found in the two reports titled 'Financial Support to the Water Sector 2002-2004' and 'Financial Support to the Water Sector 2004-2006'. These are both available on the DFID website and in the Library:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/.

Sierra Leone: Overseas Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made by his Department in helping Sierra Leone to  (a) attract private investment by simplifying regulations,  (b) improve its tax collection,  (c ) manage its natural resources through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and  (d) tackle corruption.

Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) has been supporting the Government of Sierra Leone to reduce the administrative barriers to investment. As a direct result, it is now the easiest place to start a business in West Africa according to the 2009 Doing Business survey at:
	http://www.doingbusiness.org/
	DFID is funding a seven-year programme (2005-12) of assistance to the National Revenue Authority (NRA). This support will modernise the NRA and implement effective strategies to broaden the tax base and account for revenues it collects.
	As part of a Diamond Sector Programme (2004-07) DFID has funded and provided technical support to implement the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Sierra Leone, enabling more transparency and accountability by publishing and verifying transactions between Government and companies in the sector. Sierra Leone was accepted as an EITI candidate country on 22 February 2008 and has until 9 March 2010 to undertake validation to obtain full membership of the initiative.
	DFID has been the principal donor to the Sierra Leone Anti-Corruption Commission, since its establishment in 2000. Until recently, progress in tackling corruption had been slow and political commitment weak. However, initiatives under the new Government such as the appointment of a capable and independent Anti-Corruption Commissioner, a revised Anti-Corruption Act and a new National Anti-Corruption Strategy gives us some confidence that we will see progress in the fight against corruption in Sierra Leone. Recognising this renewed commitment, we are looking at a new support package for the ACC with donor partners.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Overseas Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on maternal health projects in sub-Saharan Africa in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development's (DFID) bilateral expenditure on health in sub-Saharan Africa in each of the last five years is shown in the following table. Much of this contributes to maternal health through strengthening health systems. DFID's directly targeted funding for maternal, neonatal and reproductive health projects is also shown. In addition, DFID makes substantial contributions to multilateral organisations that contribute to improving maternal health, including £98 million core funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) over the past five years.
	
		
			  DFID's bilateral expenditure on health in Africa, 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			  £ million 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Health 132.4 171.8 200.3 222.8 269.5 
			 Of which:  
			 Maternal, neonatal and reproductive health 18.1 15.6 14.2 13.0 17.5 
		
	
	DFID has committed to spend at least £6 billion on health systems and services between 2008 and 2015; much of this will be in Africa and will contribute to improving maternal health.

Sudan: Human Rights

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool has had on the humanitarian situation in Darfur.

Ivan Lewis: The UK Government are addressing the humanitarian situation in Darfur through the Department for International Development's (DFID) bilateral programme rather than through the Conflict Prevention Pool (CPP). We monitor the humanitarian situation closely and discuss it regularly with the British embassy, the joint DFID-FCO Sudan unit and with development partners in Sudan. DFID's programme includes an annual contribution to the Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF), which allows the UN's Humanitarian Co-ordinator to target urgent humanitarian needs. In 2008 we have provided £40 million for the CHF—around 50 per cent. of the total.

Vietnam: Overseas Aid

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he has taken to enable poor people to maximise their revenues from agricultural exports in Vietnam.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has committed £8.66 million to the Making Markets Work Better for the Poor project in Vietnam since 2003. The project links poor people in rural provinces to international markets to maximise their revenues from agricultural and other production. A good example is the development of sustainable smallholder bamboo production supplying IKEA with materials for flooring which is delivering additional benefits of $1 million per year to poor households in Thanh Hoa province. Pilot schemes in 30 locations have raised incomes for 20,000 households and created 500 new jobs.
	DFID is also assisting Vietnam to fulfil its World Trade Organisation (WTO) commitments by providing £4 million to the Beyond WTO programme, including help to poor people to seize the opportunities created by Vietnam's integration into the global economy. Vietnam's agricultural exports increased by 20 per cent. in 2007, the year after WTO accession.
	DFID also provide major funding to the rural transport sector (£40.5 million over 10 years) to improve the quality of the rural road networks to link many poor villages to national and international markets. This has helped reduce the production costs of agro-processing for export, making products more competitive in global markets.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Airwave Service

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what organisations for which his Department is responsible  (a) use and  (b) are planning to use Airwave handsets.

Jonathan R Shaw: Airwave handsets are currently being used by the Fraud Investigation Service which is part of the benefit fraud directorate within Jobcentre Plus.
	There are no plans currently for other parts of DWP to use Airwave handsets.

Children: Maintenance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many child maintenance customers will continue to operate under the old Child Support Agency system; when he expects all customers to be transferred to the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission system; and if he will make a statement.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 30 October 2008
	The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many child maintenance customers will continue to operate under the old Child Support Agency system; when he expects all customers to be transferred to the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission system; and if he will make a statement.
	The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission took responsibility for all Child Support Agency functions, assets and people from 1 November 2008. All existing Agency clients have the option either to agree a private maintenance arrangement or to remain within the current schemes until the new gross income statutory maintenance scheme is introduced.
	The Commission expects to introduce the new gross income statutory maintenance scheme in 2011 and all Agency clients on both schemes will then be invited either to apply to the new gross income scheme or to make a private arrangement. It is currently planned that this process will take around three years.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Disability Living Allowance

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2008,  Official Report, column 257W, on disability living allowance, what percentage of those rejected for both disability living allowance and attendance allowance have gone to a Ministry of Justice tribunal.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 11 November 2008
	The information is not available and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Disability and Work Division's Employment and Support Allowance design team has undertaken an impact assessment study for the introduction of employment and support allowance (ESA), with particular regard to the effects on expenditure on current incapacity benefit and income claimants and new ESA claimants; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 17 October 2008
	I can confirm an impact assessment was conducted for the Welfare Reform Bill that introduced the employment and support allowance.
	The "Welfare Reform Bill 2006—Regulatory Impact Assessment" can be found on the internet at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/welfarereform/docs/WelfareReformRIA.pdf
	The introduction of employment and support allowance will not affect the level of benefit expenditure on existing incapacity benefits customers, including contributory incapacity benefit and income support on grounds of incapacity. However, it will affect the level of benefit expenditure on new claimants receiving employment and support allowance for the first time instead of incapacity benefit.
	According to our latest estimates, paying these people employment and support allowance rates will cost nearly £400 million more spread over the first five years, including the knock-on to housing benefit expenditure, compared to paying the incapacity benefit rates.
	The £400 million arises largely because, under employment and support allowance, claimants receive an increased rate of benefit at the 14(th) week, much sooner than under the incapacity benefits system, where higher rates are typically payable after a year of incapacity.

Employment Services

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedures his Department has to ensure that its employment advisers do not require women living in refuges to disclose their address as part of a work search.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what procedures his Department has to ensure that its employment advisers do not require women living in refuges to disclose their address as part of a work search.
	This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	An address is not a prerequisite to enable matching a jobseeker to available vacancies. Therefore, at this stage a woman is not required to divulge her address to a potential employer.
	Where an employment application process involves material that would ordinarily be posted to the customer, alternative arrangements can be agreed. For example, an application form can be collected from a local Jobcentre Plus office, posted to an alternative address, or sent by email to the customer.

Employment Services: Training

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training is provided to employment advisers to enable them to  (a) recognise and  (b) meet the needs of people with mental health problems.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what training is provided to employment advisers to enable them to (a) recognise and (b) meet the needs of people with mental health problems. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus provides its employment advisers with general awareness training to enable them to have a broad understanding of various health conditions, including mental health conditions. This knowledge helps the adviser provide better help and support to the customer through recognition of how their condition might affect their job search activities. Jobcentre Plus develops its people in the skills required to manage a range of behaviours demonstrated by customers, regardless of their health condition. This approach ensures that they are better equipped to deal with a diverse set of circumstances and meeting the needs of our customers.
	The learning programme for Jobcentre Plus advisers focuses on raising awareness of the customer's personal circumstances and the impact this might have on their ability to move into sustainable employment. Mental health and depression are covered within an Adviser Skills event which focuses on providing advisers with a broad understanding of conditions. Incapacity Benefit Personal Advisers, and Disability Employment Advisers, who focus on customers needing more extensive support, receive further levels of skills training appropriate to their customers.

Employment: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the difference between summer and winter employment rates was in the latest period for which figures are available in  (a) Barry,  (b) Blackpool,  (c) Bognor Regis,  (d) Bournemouth,  (e) Bridlington,  (f) Brighton,  (g) Burnham on Sea,  (h) Clacton,  (i) Conwy,  (j) Dawlish/Teignmouth,  (k) Deal,  (l) Eastbourne,  (m) Exmouth,  (n) Falmouth,  (o) Folkestone/Hythe,  (p) Great Yarmouth,  (q) Hastings/Bexhill,  (r) Ilfracombe,  (s) Isle of Wight,  (t) Lowestoft,  (u) Minehead,  (v) Morecambe/Heysham,  (w) Newquay,  (x) Penzance,  (y) Porthcawl,  (z) Rhyl, (aa) Scarborough, (bb) Sidmouth, (cc) Skegness, (dd) Southend on Sea, (ee) Southport, (ff) St Ives, (gg) Swanage, (hh) Thanet, (ii) Torbay, (jj) Weston super Mare, (kk) Weymouth, (ll) Whitby, (mm) Whitley Bay, (nn) Whitstable/Herne Bay and (oo) Worthing.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not available.

Fit for Work Service

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for a trial of the Fit for Work Service, as referred to in the Green Paper No One Written Off: reforming welfare to reward responsibility.

Tony McNulty: We intend to begin piloting the Fit for Work service in locations across Great Britain from 2009.
	We will provide further information on the Fit for Work service in the Government's response to Dame Carol Black's Review of the health of Britain's working age population, which will be published later this year.

Industrial Injuries Scheme

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people successfully claimed industrial injuries benefit due to ill health following the administration of an occupational vaccine in each of the last 25 years; which vaccines were involved in each successful claim; what classification was given to the illness of each successful claimant; and how many of the claims were classed as an  (a) industrial injury and  (b) industrial accident;
	(2)  how many people have made unsuccessful claims for industrial injuries benefits following the administration of an occupational vaccine to them in each of the last 25 years; how many of those people had their claims refused on the grounds that they were studying or training to be qualified for the relevant occupation in each of those years; and which vaccines were cited in the claims in each case.

Kitty Ussher: The information is not available.

Jobcentre Plus: Manpower

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many personal advisers worked in Jobcentre Plus offices in each month since 2002, broken down by region; and what their total salary cost was in each such month in each region.

Jonathan R Shaw: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many personal advisers worked in Jobcentre Plus offices in each month since 2002, broken down by region; and what their total salary cost was in each such month in each region. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	We are unable to provide information prior to April 2003. I have placed information regarding the number of personal advisers, expressed as full-time equivalents (FTEs) along with the associated total salary costs, by region in each such month since April 2003 in the Library.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Independent Case Examiner plans to reply to the letter of 9 September 2008 from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford on his constituent, Ms J. Wood of Great Leighs, Chelmsford.

Jonathan R Shaw: The letter was not received by the Independent Case Examiner until 10 November 2008. A response was issued the same day.

New Deal for 50 Plus

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many individuals were enrolled in the New Deal 50 Plus programme in each month since its launch;
	(2)  how many individuals are enrolled in the New Deal 50 Plus programme.

Tony McNulty: The available information on the number of individuals enrolled on the New Deal 50 Plus in each month is in the table.
	
		
			  New Deal 50 Plus—Starters (Individuals) since January 2004 People starting: Time Series—month of starting 
			   Total 
			 January 2004 3,860 
			 February 2004 3,100 
			 March 2004 3,480 
			 April 2004 2,660 
			 May 2004 2,560 
			 June 2004 2,540 
			 July 2004 3,320 
			 August 2004 2,890 
			 September 2004 2,640 
			 October 2004 3,670 
			 November 2004 2,570 
			 December 2004 2,420 
			 January 2005 2,410 
			 February 2005 2,600 
			 March 2005 2,360 
			 April 2005 2,670 
			 May 2005 2,250 
			 June 2005 1,950 
			 July 2005 2,470 
			 August 2005 1,800 
			 September 2005 2,220 
			 October 2005 1,840 
			 November 2005 2,060 
			 December 2005 1,810 
			 January 2006 1,600 
			 February 2006 1,700 
			 March 2006 1,950 
			 April 2006 1,230 
			 May 2006 1,480 
			 June 2006 1,670 
			 July 2006 1,330 
			 August 2006 1,310 
			 September 2006 1,510 
			 October 2006 1,260 
			 November 2006 1,450 
			 December 2006 1,330 
			 January 2007 1,430 
			 February 2007 1,460 
			 March 2007 1,620 
			 April 2007 1,090 
			 May 2007 1,080 
			 June 2007 1,150 
			 July 2007 850 
			 August 2007 1,070 
			 September 2007 800 
			 October 2007 880 
			 November 2007 1,190 
			 December 2007 670 
			 January 2008 820 
			 February 208 1,250 
			 March 2008 780 
			 April 2008 870 
			 May 2008 890 
			 Total 97,820 
			  Notes: 1. Definitions and conventions: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Figures may not sum to total due to rounding. 2. Information on the month of starting is available from January 2004 (the programme was introduced in April 2000). The latest data are to May 2008. 3. This information is published at http://83.244.183.180/new_deals/nd50plus/live/tabtool.html 4. Statistics relating to current participants on New Deal 50 Plus are under review and will be released as soon as possible. The available information is in the table.  Source:  Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate.

Poverty: Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent assessment is of the Government's progress towards meeting their targets to reduce child poverty.

Kitty Ussher: We have lifted 600,000 children out of relative poverty since 1999, and around a further 500,000 will be lifted out of relative poverty as a result of policies already agreed and in the process of being implemented.
	We will continue to do everything we can to support low-income families with children. This is why the Prime Minister announced in September that we will enshrine in legislation our commitment to eradicate child poverty by 2020.

Social Security Benefits: Applications

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of support group employment and support allowance claims which last for  (a) less than three months, ( b) between three months and one year,  (c) between one and two years, (d) between two and three years and  (e) more than three years.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 17 September 2008
	Employment and support allowance was introduced on 27 October 2008. Therefore there have been no outturn data yet. However, estimates have been made, which show expected claim durations. These figures are not an assessment of the aims or effect of the introduction of the new benefit.
	Details of the proportion of people remaining on benefit after particular periods provided in the following table are in line with the cautious and prudent approach to making fiscal projections, where the impact of existing and proposed policies is taken into account once there is robust evidence of their effect, but the impact of new or planned policies is not considered where the evidence is more limited.
	The historical data on severely disabled incapacity benefit cases show that they leave benefit very slowly as it takes longer for them to adapt to their conditions. Virtually no one who is severely disabled leaves benefit within three months, though outflows from this group start to rise over time.
	
		
			  Estimated proportion of employment and support allowance support group claimants remaining on benefit after a particular period of time 
			   Percentage 
			 Up to 13 weeks 99.8 
			 Up to 6 months 98.4 
			 Up to 12 months 92.5 
			 Up to 24 months 80.7 
			 Up to 30 months 78.8 
			 30 months+ 76.4 
			  Notes: 1. Employment and support allowance was introduced on 27 October 2008 and replaces incapacity benefit and income support on the grounds of sickness or disability for new claimants. 2. Estimates do not take into account new or planned policies where evidence is more limited. 3. Estimates are based on the latest available data and are subject to revision as new data become available. 4. Estimates relate to employment and support allowance support group awards for adults of working-age. 5. Estimates are extrapolated from the historic administrative data on survival of the most severely disabled on incapacity benefits.

Social Security Benefits: Applications

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of main phase employment and support allowance claims which last for  (a) less than 13 weeks,  (b) between 13 and 28 weeks,  (c) between 28 weeks and one year,  (d) between one and two years,  (e) between two and three years and  (f) more than three years.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 17 September 2008
	Employment and support allowance was introduced on 27 October 2008. Therefore there have been no outturn data yet. However, estimates have been made, which show expected claim durations. These figures are not an assessment of the aims or effect of the introduction of the new benefit.
	Details of the proportions of claimants remaining on benefit after particular periods provided in the following table are in line with the cautious and prudent approach to making fiscal projections, where the impact of existing and proposed policies is taken into account once there is robust evidence of their effect, but the impact of new or planned policies is not considered where the evidence is more limited.
	
		
			  Estimated proportions of employment and support allowance claimants remaining on benefit after a particular period of time 
			   Claimants remaining on benefit (percentage) 
			 Up to 13 weeks 61.3 
			 Up to 6 months 49.4 
			 Up to 12 months 33.3 
			 Up to 24 months 28.0 
			 Up to 30 months 26.0 
			 30 months + 25.2 
			  Notes: 1. Employment and support allowance was introduced on 27 October 2008 and replaced incapacity benefit and income support on the grounds of sickness or disability for new claimants.  2. Estimates do not take into account new or planned policies where evidence is more limited.  3. Estimates are based on the latest available data and are subject to revision as new data become available.  4. Estimates relate to all employment and support allowance awards for adults of working age.  5. Estimates are extrapolated from the historic incapacity benefits data from the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study with adjustments made to allow for the impact of Pathways to Work and employment and support allowance.

Social Security Benefits: Carers

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost implications of moving carers currently in receipt of income support on to a modified form of jobseeker's allowance; what other impact assessment of the change he has made; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 20 October 2008
	We have no specific costs that can be directly attributed to moving income support carers to a modified jobseeker's allowance as they constitute a minority of the income support caseload that would be moved. As such, the work we have done to cost a move to a modified jobseeker's allowance has been on the basis of moving the entire caseload. However, there would be no change in the amount of benefit paid to carers on income support nor would there be any additional one-off implementation costs associated with this specific group. There would also be no increased requirements placed upon carers.
	The impact assessment produced alongside the Green Paper provided some high-level information about the proposal to move income support cases on to jobseeker's allowance in so far as it applied to lone parents. Further details will be provided once the policy has been reviewed in the light of responses to the consultation.

Social Security Benefits: Overpayments

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was overpaid in benefits through  (a) fraud and  (b) error to claimants who were deceased in each year since 1997 for which information is available.

Tony McNulty: This information is not available. The fraud and error data collected are not broken down to a level required to identify this category separately.

Unemployment Benefits

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much an eligible single person aged 25 years or over received in  (a) unemployment benefit and  (b) jobseeker's allowance in each year since 1987, expressed as a proportion of average earnings

Tony McNulty: The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Unemployment benefit (UB) and jobseeker's allowance (JSA) rates as percentage of average earnings, 1987 to 2008 
			   UB/JSA rate as percentage of average earnings 
			 1987-88 15.8 
			 1988-89 15.0 
			 1989-90 14.5 
			 1990-91 14.2 
			 1991-92 14.5 
			 1992-93 14.1 
			 1993-94 14.1 
			 1994-95 14.0 
			 1995-96 13.8 
			 1996-97 13.7 
			 1997-98 13.4 
			 1998-99 12.8 
			 1999-2000 12.6 
			 2000-01 12.3 
			 2001-02 11.8 
			 2002-03 11.4 
			 2003-04 11.2 
			 2004-05 11.2 
			 2005-06 10.9 
			 2006-07 10.7 
			 2007-08 10.8 
			  Notes:  1. UB/JSA rates are for single person aged 25 or over.  2. Average earnings from 1998 onwards are taken from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and before 1998 from the New Earnings Survey (NES).  3. Average earnings are mean UK gross weekly pay for full-time adult employees.

Winter Fuel Payments

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received cold weather payments in each year since 1988 for which information is available; how many payments were made, broken down by level; and how much was spent in each such year.

Kitty Ussher: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of cold weather payments ( T housand)  Total amount spent (£ million) 
			 1988-89 0.5 0.003 
			 1989-90 n/a 0.4 
			 1990-91 n/a 9.3 
			 1991-92 3,827 23.0 
			 1992-93 2,503 15.0 
			 1993-94 2,064 12.4 
			 1994-95 11 0.1 
			 1995-96 7,252 61.6 
			 1996-97 4,964 42.2 
			 1997-98 55 0.5 
			 1998-99 26 0.2 
			 1999-2000 114 1.0 
			 2000-01 3,535 30.0 
			 2001-02 1,804 15.3 
			 2002-03 1,675 14.2 
			 2003-04 418 3.5 
			 2004-05 213 1.8 
			 2005-06 988 8.4 
			 2006-07 402 3.4 
			 2007-08 472 4.0 
			 n/a = not available  Notes: 1. Figures are for payments triggered in the relevant financial year. 2. There was a single level of payment each year, except in 1990-91 when the level of payment was increased during the year. A breakdown of the number of payments for that year by level is not available. 3. Some people were made more than one payment in some years. 4. Numbers of payments made are rounded to the nearest 1,000, except for 1988-89 where the number of payments is rounded to the nearest 100. Amounts spent are rounded to the nearest £0.1 million, except for 1988-89 where the amount spent is rounded to the nearest £1,000. 5. Data are not available on the numbers of payments received (as opposed to made) or on the numbers of people who received payments. However, the vast majority of payments are now made direct into bank accounts.  Source: Annual reports by the Secretary of State for Social Security/Work and Pensions on the Social Fund.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

English Language: Immigrants

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much was spent by his Department on English for Speakers of Other Languages courses for immigrants in each of the last 10 years.

Si�n Simon: Since 2001, the Government fund English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses through the Skills for Life strategy as part of the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC's) overall adult skills budget.
	The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) calculates the total amounts spent on Skills for Life ESOL as follows:
	
		
			million 
			 2000/01 103 
			 2001/02 185 
			 2002/03 235 
			 2003/04 267 
			 2004/05 289 
			 2005/06 298 
			 2006/07 289 
		
	
	The data collected by LSC cover all eligible ESOL learners in England, whether they are long-term residents or recently arrived in the UK.

Greater Manchester Learning and Skills Council: Grants

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much the Greater Manchester Learning and Skills Council has given to  (a) the Greater Manchester Council for Voluntary Organisations,  (b) Greater Manchester Voluntary Sector Support and  (c) Greater Manchester Voluntary Sector Learning Consortium.

Si�n Simon: The Department recognises and supports the vital role that the third sector plays in empowering individuals and communities. The funding of these organisations is an operational matter for the LSC. Mark Haysom, the LSC's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 7 November 2008:
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question that asked: how much the Greater Manchester LSC has given to a) Greater Manchester Council for Voluntary Organisations (GMCVO), b) Greater Manchester Voluntary Sector Support and c) Greater Manchester Voluntary Sector Learning Consortium. Our understanding is that the latter two organisations are administered by the GMCVO which is the accountable body.
	The question includes the term 'given' which may be interpreted as implying that the LSC has grant funded the organisations listed above. At present the LSC is not providing any form of grant funding to GMCVO but we do have a contract in place with this organisation for LSC funded activity.
	The LSC currently has a single contract with GMCVO and an additional contract currently under negotiation. The organisation is also a partner in a successful consortium bid. The details are set out below.
	The LSC has recently awarded a contract as part of the activity funded under the LSC's European Social Fund programme. The organisation has successfully completed the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire and is a on our approved supplier list. Subsequently, the organisation successfully tendered to the LSC to become the Grant Co-ordinating Body to manage the community grants programme for Greater Manchester. Details of the contract are publicly available on our website. In summary the contract for the management of the community grants programme will run from May 2007 to December 2010 and has a total value of 796,232.
	The aim of the project is to establish a sub-regional grants co-ordinating structure to develop, deliver and manage a community grants programme across the Greater Manchester sub-region to support smaller community based organisations who would not normally access ESF funding to engage in the programme. The focus of activity is engaging people from the hardest to reach communities and individuals experiencing multiple disadvantages. Ninety percent of the funding available will go to small community and voluntary sector organisations.
	In addition the organisation has successfully tendered to deliver ESF funded Level 4 training which was tendered for in March 2008. We are currently at the contract clarification stage. The anticipated value of the contract is less than 35,000
	The LSC has recently procured activity through ESF Technical Assistance funding. The aim of the planned activity is to better engage the third sector workforce, both employed and volunteer, in the LSC's Train to Gain programme. The project will cover the whole of the North West and has a total value of 120k for the whole region. Voluntary Sector North West have successfully tendered as the lead organisation in a consortia bid. Greater Manchester Council for Voluntary Organisations is a named partner in the bid. They will act as a sub-contractor undertaking delivery of activity for the Greater Manchester element of the region wide activity which we anticipate will be approximately 40% of the total contract value.
	If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact our regional Director for the North West, John Korzeniewski

Higher Education: Admissions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what discussions he has had with the Higher Education Funding Council for England on altering the number of additional students each university may accept in each year.

David Lammy: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to the chair of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) on 29 October 2008 regarding additional student numbers in 2009-10. It is for HEFCE to determine the funding allocation to each individual institution.

Sector Skills Council

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  what the timescale is for the consultation process on the re-licensing of Sector Skills Councils; which stakeholders will be consulted; and what form the consultation will take;
	(2)  what plans he has to consult professional bodies as part of the consultation process for the re-licensing of Sector Skills Councils.

Si�n Simon: The consultation process for the relicensing of Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) is part of an assessment of their performance being undertaken by the National Audit Office. SSCs are being assessed by the NAO in five groups of five between now and August 2009. Each SSC has been asked to provide a stakeholder map to the NAO which includes sector specific stakeholders such as trade associations, employer forums and professional bodies and where appropriate sector specific awarding bodies. The NAO will then as part of the evidence gathering process use the map to consult with the identified key stakeholders. The consultation is an inclusive process and any organisation which wishes to input evidence on any SSC can submit their views to the NAO. This includes professional bodies, regulatory bodies, awarding bodies, funding bodies and regional partners, as well as individual employers.
	Organisations wishing to submit comments are asked to present information using the four key themes in the assessment framework. These are a well run SSC; SSC core products and services; SSC sector specific solutions; and SSC results and impacts.
	The UK Commission for Employment and Skills has a website which contains details of the SSC timetable for consultation for each SSC, as well as explaining the process for consultation for employers, professional bodies and stakeholders.

Technology

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department spent on technology strategy activities in  (a) the most recent year for which figures are available and  (b) in each of the previous five years, broken down by main budget heading.

David Lammy: The Department (and formerly DTI) has funded support for technology development and use under the Technology Strategy Board since November 2004. It also funds support for technology under the budgets for the National Measurement System and Space.
	The spend on these activities by main budget heading was:
	
		
			   million 
			   Technology Strategy  NMS  Space 
			   Programme Budget  Capital budget  Programme Budget  Capital Budget  Programme Budget  Capital Budget 
			 2004-05 113 Nil 68 16 39 Nil 
			 2005-06 140 Nil 69 2 38 Nil 
			 2006-07 130 10 62 18 28 Nil 
			 2007-08 213 12 67 10 50 Nil

TREASURY

Corporation Tax: Small Businesses

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the revenue to the Exchequer from the small companies rate of corporation tax in each of the last four years; and what he expects it to be in  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10 and  (c) 2010-11;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made  (a) of the number of companies paying the small companies rate of corporation tax in each of the last four years and  (b) the likely number in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11;
	(3)  what estimate his Department has made of  (a) the number of company liquidations among companies paying the small companies rate of corporation tax in each of the last four years and  (b) the likely number in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11.

Stephen Timms: National Statistics showing the number of companies paying at the Small Companies' Rate and the total tax charge are available for 1998-99 to 2006-07 at
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate tax/11-3-corporation-tax.pdf
	Corporation tax receipts are forecast on an aggregate basis and published in the Budget and pre-Budget reports. It is not possible to provide a separate forecast for the number of companies paying at the small companies rate, or the number of liquidations among those companies.

Departmental Buildings

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of the property held by  (a) his Department and  (b) associated public bodies was at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Angela Eagle: Details of the net book value of the land and buildings held at 31 March 2008 by the Treasury are shown in Note 11 to the 2007-08 Resource Account, HC 539. No land or buildings were held at 31 March 2008 by either the Debt Management Office or the Office of Government Commerce.

Economic and Monetary Union

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next plans to publish an assessment of whether the UK has met the five economic tests to join the euro; and what preparatory work his officials are undertaking for such an assessment.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 10 November 2008
	The Chancellor announced in Budget 2008 that the Government did not propose a euro assessment to be initiated at the time of this Budget. The Treasury will again review the situation at the Budget next year as required by the then Chancellor's statement in 2003.

Financial Markets

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the effect on financial markets of US  (a) Government policy and  (b) banking practices on lending standards; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: It is not the practice of the Government to provide assessments of the policies of overseas Governments or institutions.

Government Assistance: Disadvantaged

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to support families with incomes less than 60 per cent. of median income and with family members with autism who are experiencing difficulties as a result of the credit crunch and the recession.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, South (Mr. Cunningham) on 15 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1311W, and the answer given by my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Angela Eagle) to my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, South (Mr. Cunningham) on 14 July 2008,  Official Report, column 140W, and the answer by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland (Dr. Kumar) on 17 July 2008,  Official Report, column 631W.
	Disabled people have access to a range of benefits in recognition of their extra support needs. The employment and support allowance offers financial help and personal support to disabled people who are out of work, and disability living allowance provides a contribution towards the extra costs arising from disability. The disability premium in income-related benefits is also paid in recognition that the least well-off disabled people need additional help.

Revenue and Customs: Contracts

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with HM Revenue and Customs on its decision to invite bids from the private sector to take over the physical security arrangements at various sites in Northern Ireland.

Stephen Timms: As part of its Departmental Transformation Programme, HMRC is looking at ways it to improve the delivery and value for money of internal support and make a significant contribution to the Department's overall efficiency targets.
	HMRC's manned security guarding services are currently provided through a mixed model of in-house and outsourced security guards, with over 60 per cent. of security guards already provided by external suppliers (primarily Mapeley) under contractual arrangements. In Northern Ireland, 15 HMRC sites are already manned by private security guards, with HMRC employing security guards directly at just two sites.
	In August 2008 HMRC launched a fully competitive procurement exercise through the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) to explore the option of outsourcing its remaining in-house guarding services across the UK. I expect HMRC to make further recommendations and to have further discussions once the procurement process is complete.

Stamp Duties

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated cost to the public purse is of the stamp duty threshold extension; and what his estimate is of the number of housing transactions that will be affected by the extension.

Ian Pearson: I refer the right hon. Member to the letter from the Chancellor to the right hon. John McFall MP, Chairman of the Treasury Committee, on 2 September 2008, deposited in the Library of the House, and to the answer given on 15 September 2008,  Official Report, columns 2155-56W.to the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond).

Tax Havens

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether HM Revenue and Customs has tax information-sharing agreements with  (a) the Crown Dependencies,  (b) Monaco,  (c) Liechtenstein and  (d) Andorra.

Stephen Timms: The Government signed a new Tax Information Exchange Agreement with the Government of the Isle of Man on 29 September 2008. This agreement is not yet in force. However, the United Kingdom already exchanges information for certain direct tax purposes with the Crown Dependencies under the terms of our bilateral double taxation arrangements with Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. The Crown Dependences also have agreements with the United Kingdom under the framework of Council Directive 2003/48/EC. Those agreements provide for exchange of information by the UK and a withholding tax on savings income or disclosure of information by the dependencies.
	In addition, the Isle of Man exchanges information to enable a correct assessment of VAT with the United Kingdom, as well as with other EU member states, in accordance with the provisions set out in EC Regulation 1798/03 on Administrative Co-operation in the VAT field. These arrangements apply to the Isle of Man by virtue of undertakings given in the 1979 UK-Isle of Man Customs and Excise Agreement and Article 7(2) of VAT Directive 2006/112/EC, the effect of which is to bring the Isle of Man within the EC's VAT fiscal territory.
	The United Kingdom does not have a tax information exchange agreement with Monaco, Liechtenstein or Andorra.

Valuation Office: Conferences

Bob Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 29 September 2008,  Official Report, column 2307-8W, on the Valuation Office: travel, if he will place in the Library copies of the presentations, handouts and speeches made by representatives of the Valuation Office Agency at  (a) the Malaysia valuation conference,  (b) the Canadian Valuation Symposium and  (c) the Polish valuation conference.

Stephen Timms: A copy of these presentations, made by a Valuation Office Agency representative, has been placed in the Library.

Working Tax Credit

Nick Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what checks HM Revenue and Customs makes with child care providers to ensure that tax credit claimants are paying for and using child care services.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 6 November 2008,  Official Report, column 680W.

Written Questions: Finance

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the cost limit above which Ministers may decline to answer parliamentary questions on the ground of disproportionate cost was last revised.

Angela Eagle: The disproportionate cost threshold (DCT) was set at its present level (700) in November 2006,  (Official Report, 28 November 2008, column 87WS. The threshold is advisory, not obligatory. Ministers can answer written questions substantively regardless of cost if they consider it in the public interest to do so.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departmental ICT

Paul Holmes: To ask the Leader of the House how many  (a) memory sticks,  (b) laptop computers,  (c) desktop computers,  (d) hard drives and  (e) mobile telephones were (i) lost by and (ii) stolen from her Office in each year since 1997.

Chris Bryant: There have been no further losses following the answer I gave on 3 November 2008,  Official Report, column 14W, namely that since June 2007 one laptop has been reported stolen from the Leader of the House of Commons Office. The laptop was used to update the office website and did not contain any personal data or other sensitive information. No data have been lost.
	Following a machinery of government change, information prior to 2006-07 is available only at disproportionate cost.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Employers' Liability: Databases

David Anderson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will make it his policy to create a database to which all employers are required to submit the details of their liability insurance.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Minister of State at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, as matters to do with employers' liability compulsory insurance (ELCI) sit with the DWP. I understand that your inquiry is about ELCI and not public liability insurance. At present, where a potential claimant who has been injured or made ill through their work and is unable to identify the employer's insurer to claim against, they may use the employers' liability code of practice tracing service. The code of practice, which was launched on 1 November 1999, is a voluntary code operated by the insurance industry, which requires signatories to retain historical records of insurance policies for 60 years.
	Tracing employers' liability insurance policies is complex and we know that the historical records of some insurers are incomplete. However, the Government are committed to improving this situation and we are working with stakeholders to improve the effectiveness of the tracing service, ensuring that we are in a position where we can be confident that every effort has been made to trace this information. For this reason, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to consider positive measures within the industry to address this issue. I understand that the ABI are looking into the feasibility of a database.
	In the meantime, DWP will continue to monitor the success rate of employers' liability insurance policy tracing through the Employers' Liability Code of Practice Review Body, and support improvements to the code, in order to build further upon the successes in tracing employers' liability insurance policies.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Emissions Reduction Target

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many fuel-standardised kilowatt hours of energy savings were carried forward from phase two of the energy efficiency commitment to the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target.

Joan Ruddock: Ofgem's report 'A Review of the Energy Efficiency Commitment 2005-2008', published in August 2008, states that the energy suppliers carried over 57 fuel standardised lifetime tera-watt hours (or 57,000,000,000 fuel standardised lifetime kilowatt hours) from energy efficiency commitment 2 to the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target.

Carbon Emissions: Departmental Responsibilities

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what work is expected to be carried out by the Special Representative of the Prime Minister on Carbon Trading; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The Prime Minister's Special Representative on Carbon Trading, my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, North and Leith (Mark Lazarowicz), was appointed on 6 October this year.
	The Special Representative has been tasked with promoting the development of a global carbon market, helping to ensure that London remains at the forefront of these developments, as well as advising the Government on the potential for linking international emissions trading schemes.
	He is responsible for engaging in dialogue with the European Commission, the private sector, financial institutions, other Governments and others interested in the development of the global carbon market internationally.
	He is also responsible for maintaining a dialogue with UK carbon market players in the financial sector and wider economy.
	Further tasks will be developed in consultation with the Secretary of State.

Carbon Emissions: Government Departments

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much  (a) carbon dioxide and  (b) greenhouse gasses were emitted by (i) by Government departments and agencies and (b) the UK (A) with allowance made for trading and (B) with no allowance made for trading in each of the last 15 years.

Joan Ruddock: Greenhouse gas emissions from the Government estate are monitored by the Sustainable Development Commission. The estimates do not take account of emissions trading and are restricted to carbon dioxide emissions. The reports can be found at:
	http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/pages/watchdog.html.
	UK greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions are published as National Statistics. These can be found on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/globatmos/index.htm.
	The impact of emissions trading in respect of progress towards the UK targets is explained in DEFRA's January Statistical Release UK Climate Change Sustainable Development Indicator: 2006 Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Final Figures. A more detailed breakdown of these results can be found at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/globatos/download/ghg_ns_20080131.pdf.

Climate Change

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the timetable is for the development and implementation of the first climate change risk assessment; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: We are currently in the process of conducting a scoping study on the climate change risk assessment, this will be completed by February 2009. The climate change risk assessment will commence after this date and is expected to be completed by the end of 2010, including a post-project consultation period.

Climate Change

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the timetable for the development and implementation of the cost-benefit analysis of climate change adaptation is; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The scoping study for the cost-benefit analysis is currently underway, and will be completed by February 2009. The main study will start in summer 2009 and will be published by 2012.

Climate Change

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the level of access to project credits under  (a) the provisions of the Climate Change Bill and  (b) EU effort-sharing arrangements.

Joan Ruddock: The information is as follows.
	 (a) The Bill already requires the Government to
	have regard to the need for UK domestic action on climate change
	when considering how to meet the UK's targets and carbon budgets. As required in the Bill, we have asked the independent Committee on Climate Change to advise on the appropriate balance between action at domestic, European and international level, for each carbon budget.
	In addition, the Government have now tabled an amendment to the Bill which would require a limit to be set on the purchase of credits for each budgetary period in secondary legislation, subject to the affirmative procedure, and taking into account the Committee's advice.
	 (b) The current proposal is that, on the basis of sharing a 20 per cent. EU reduction target, member states have an annual project credit allowance in the years 2013-20 equal to 3 per cent. of their non-emissions trading scheme emissions in 2005.

Energy Efficiency Commitment

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many fuel-standardised kilowatt hours of energy savings were carried forward from phase one to phase two of the Energy Efficiency Commitment.

Joan Ruddock: Ofgem's report 'A Review of the Energy Efficiency Commitment 2005-2008' published in August 2008 states that the energy suppliers carried over measures equivalent to 36 fuel standardised lifetime tera-watt hours (or 36,000,000,000 Fuel Standardised lifetime kilowatt hours) from EEC1 to EEC2.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Power Stations

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the greenhouse gas emission reductions that will be made from a 1990 baseline within the domestic  (a) EU and  (b) UK power sectors under (i) a 20 per cent. and (ii) a 30 per cent. EU effort-sharing arrangement.

Joan Ruddock: The EU greenhouse gas (GHG) effort sharing decision is focused on emissions not covered by the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS). It therefore does not cover emissions from the power sector which are included under the EU ETS.
	The EU has emissions reduction targets, with a proposed 20 per cent. unilateral reduction, from 1990 GHG emissions, by 2020 and the commitment to deliver a 30 per cent. reduction in the context of an international deal. Phase III (2013-20) of the EU ETS limits emissions from industrial sectors and seeks to meet these targets.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much was provided in Warm Front grants in  (a) Hertfordshire and  (b) Hemel Hempstead in the latest year for which figures are available; and how many families in each location received a grant in that year.

Joan Ruddock: The following table illustrates the number of households assisted and cost of measures delivered through the Warm Front grant, in  (a) Hertfordshire and  (b) Hemel Hempstead between 1 April 2007 and 30 March 2008.
	
		
			   Households assisted  Cost of measures () 
			 Hertfordshire 2,233 3,287,930.03 
			 Hemel Hempstead 349 300,717.76

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Adoption

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many adoptions have broken down in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what the average age was of children of each ethnicity at time of adoption in the last year for which records are available.

Beverley Hughes: Information on the number of adoptions which have broken down is not collected centrally. When an adoption breaks down and a child returns to be looked after, for reasons of confidentiality, the local authority concerned will give the child a new identity code, which means that we cannot link post-adoption records to pre-adoption records.
	The average age for children of each ethnicity at the time of adoption, for those adopted during the year ending 31 March 2008, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Average age at adoption by ethnic origin for looked after children adopted during year ending 31 March 2008 , England 
			  Years:months 
			   All children  White  Mixed  Asian  Mixed  Other 
			 Average age 3:11 3:11 3:8 3:1 4:0 4:7 
			  Source: SSDA903 return on children looked after.

Children: Databases

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of children who should have their personal details shielded on the ContactPoint database; how many children have been identified as children who will have their details shielded; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The decision to shield a child record will be taken on a case-by-case basis, based on the level of threat posed if information about their whereabouts becomes available.
	Local authorities are currently engaging with their local partners to ensure that they understand the purpose of ContactPoint and the reasons for shielding. They will be working with those local partners to identify which of their records require shielding in accordance with the Children Act 2004 Information Database (England) Regulations 2007.
	Local authorities are also currently undertaking a local shielding analysis using a structured questionnaire which asks each local authority and local partner What is your estimate of the number of child records needing shielding?. This analysis is expected to produce a reliable estimate of the children and young people whose records should be shielded on ContactPoint, and is expected to be completed by the end of November.
	Very early indications, based on estimates from a couple of local authorities, are that that the numbers of records that will require shielding will be less than 0.5 per cent. but this figure will be refined as local authorities continue make progress with partner engagement.

Children: Day Care

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent assessment he has made of the level of availability of wraparound child care in  (a) England,  (b) the West Midlands and  (c) Birmingham.

Beverley Hughes: As required by the Childcare Act 2006, all 150 top tier local authorities in England, including Birmingham and other West Midlands authorities, have completed and published assessments of the sufficiency of childcare, including wraparound care in their areas.

Dorneywood

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 19 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1187W, on Dorneywood: official hospitality, what use his Department has made of Dorneywood for official engagements in the last 12 months.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Watson) on 20 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 90-91W.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what measures will be put in place to prevent a backlog of education maintenance allowance payments in the future.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and hold information about applications made under the scheme. Mark Haysom, the LSC's chief executive, has written to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 11 November 2008:
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question 227007 that asked:
	What measures will be put in place to ensure a backlog of education maintenance allowance payments does not happen again.
	The Education Maintenance Allowance is operated under contract with a service delivery supplier to run the Helpline, Assessment and Payment Body. The Learning and Skills Council has put robust procedures in place to monitor performance and to minimise the potential of a backlog re occurring. This includes daily monitoring of applications received, applications processed and Notice of Entitlements issued.
	I would like to reassure you that considerable effort is also being made to improve the long-term performance of the Helpline Assessment and Payment Body and to ensure that a backlog does not happen again.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when his Department expects the current backlog of education maintenance allowance applications to be processed.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and hold information about applications made under the scheme. Mark Haysom, the LSC's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member for West Lancashire with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 11 November 2008:
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question 227900 that asked:
	When his Department expects the current backlog of Education Maintenance Allowance applications to be processed.
	The work in progress figure is reducing and currently stands at less than 40,000. The current projection is that a complete application received on 5th November should be processed by 20th November. By the end of the month we expect the backlog to have reduced significantly, and good applications will be processed within five days.

Education Maintenance Allowance

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what steps have been adopted by the learning and skills council to allow colleges to give learner support fund monies to students yet to receive their education maintenance allowance grant;
	(2)  how many requests the Learning and Skills Council has received from colleges for funds to cover expenditure from their learner support funds to replace delayed education maintenance allowance grants; and how much has been  (a) requested and  (b) supplied;
	(3)  how much colleges have paid monies from their learner support funds to students yet to receive their education maintenance allowance grant;
	(4)  whether the Learning and Skills Council will reimburse college spending from the learner support funds to redress the effects of delayed education maintenance allowance payments.

Jim Knight: These are all matters for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) and other learner support schemes funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Mark Haysom, the LSC's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 7 November 2008:
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Questions 229264 and 229261 that asked: whether the Learning and Skills Council will reimburse college spending from the learner support funds to redress the effects of delayed education maintenance allowance payments, and what steps have been adopted by the Learning and Skills Council to allow colleges to give Learner Support monies to student yet to receive their Education Maintenance Allowance.
	The Learning and Skills Council provides schools and colleges with discretionary learner support to help learners in severe hardship. Where individuals are suffering as a result of late payment of their EMA, we would want colleges to offer whatever forms of help are necessary to learners. How these arrangements are best administered is a matter for colleges. Colleges will also need to determine how to recover any expenditure from learners once they receive their EMA back payment.
	Many colleges are putting such arrangements in place using existing funding. However, where in the short term a college does need additional funding, the LSC will be willing to reprofile payments to the college in year, to front load their overall funding allocation. This will ensure that funds are available to each and every college to meet the current situation. The priority must be to ensure that any learner in need of support to alleviate hardship is able to access it. Colleges wishing to explore the possibility of reprofiling have been advised to contact their Regional Finance Director.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many students have not yet received education maintenance allowance payments which are due to them.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and hold information about payments made under the scheme. Mark Haysom, the LSC's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member for Pendle with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 11 November 2008:
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question 227518 that asked: How many students have not received education maintenance allowance payments which are due.
	As of 5(th) November 446,993 Notice of Entitlements (NoE) had been issued. In order to receive EMA payments the applicant must enrol by taking his/her NoE to a valid learning provider and attend his/her course. A student can only receive a payment where the learning provider verifies he/she has met the criteria to receive one.
	As of the 5(th) November the number of students enrolled was 337,831 and 322,585 of these students had received at least one payment.

Free School Meals: Hemel Hempstead

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of students in Hemel Hempstead  (a) were eligible for free school meals,  (b) had a statement of special education needs and  (c) were on School Action Plus in the latest year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The requested information is shown in the tables.
	
		
			  Maintained primary schools, state-funded secondary schools and all special schools: school meal arrangements( 1) , position in January 2008, England, East of England, Hertfordshire and Hemel Hempstead 
			   England( 2)  Hertfordshire  Hemel Hempstead 
			   Number on roll  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Number on roll( 3)  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Number on roll( 3)  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 
			 Maintained Primary Schools(4) 4,090,400 638,310 15.6 91,823 7,207 7.8 8,259 879 10.6 
			 State-funded Secondary Schools(5) 3,294,580 433,140 13.1 80,210 4,874 6.1 7,116 643 9.0 
			 All Special Schools(3) 90,690 28,680 31.6 2,163 418 19.3 220 46 20.9 
			 (1) Includes all pupils with dual (main) registration and boarding pupils. (2) National totals have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between totals and the sum of constituent parts. (3) Excludes general hospital schools. (4) Includes middle schools as deemed. (5) Includes middle schools as deemed, city technology colleges and academies.  Source: School Census 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained primary schools, state-funded secondary schools and all special schools: special educational needs( 1) , position in January 2008, England, East of England, Hertfordshire and Hemel Hempstead 
			   England( 2) 
			   Pupils on roll( 3)  Pupils with statements  Incidence (percentage)( 4)  Pupils on roll( 5)  SEN provision, school action plus( 5)  Incidence (percentage)( 4) 
			 Maintained Primary Schools(6) 4,087,790 59,130 1.4 4,087,790 253,590 6.2 
			 State-funded Secondary Schools(7) 3,289,000 67,270 2.0 3,289,000 186,860 5.7 
			 All Special Schools 89,480 86,950 97.2 89,310 1,730 1.9 
		
	
	
		
			   Hertfordshire 
			   Pupils on roll( 3)  Pupils with statements  Incidence (percentage)( 4)  Pupils on roll( 5)  SEN provision, school action plus( 5)  Incidence (percentage)( 4) 
			 Maintained Primary Schools(6) 91,812 1,013 1.1 91,812 4,922 5.4 
			 State-funded Secondary Schools(7) 80,202 927 1.2 80,202 3,691 4.6 
			 All Special Schools 2,160 2,149 99.5 2,160 5 0.2 
		
	
	
		
			   Hemel Hempstead 
			   Pupils on roll( 3)  Pupils with statements  Incidence (percentage)( 4)  Pupils on roll( 5)  SEN provision, school action plus( 5)  Incidence (percentage)( 4) 
			 Maintained Primary Schools(6) 8,256 94 1.1 8,256 495 6.0 
			 State-funded Secondary Schools(7) 7,116 98 1.4 7,116 334 4.7 
			 All Special Schools 219 219 100.0 219 0 0.0 
			 (1) Excluding dually registered pupils. (2) National totals have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between totals and the sum of constituent parts. (3) Includes general hospital schools for pupils with statements of special education needs. (4) Incidence of pupilsthe number of pupils with SEN without statements expressed as a proportion of pupils on roll. (5) Excludes general hospital schools. Data for pupils with SEN without statements are not collected from these schools. (6) Includes middle schools as deemed. (7) Includes city technology colleges and academies.  Source: School Census.

General Certificate of Secondary Education

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2008, Offic ial Report, column 577W, on general certificate of secondary education, what the breakdown of the estimated 4,000 cost is.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: As on 4 November, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 30 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 1305-06W.

Health Education: Sex

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated to support decision-making on changes to sex and relationship curricula in schools; and whether such research includes analysis relating to the age at which it is appropriate to teach specific sex and relationship topics.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Details of the evidence considered by the steering group are referenced in its report. As the report acknowledges, there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of individual sex and relationships education (SRE programmes). The best evidence comes from evidence reviews, such as Douglas Kirby's 'Emerging Answers: Research findings on programmes to reduce teenage pregnancies and STIs' (2007), which identified the key characteristics of effective SRE programmes. None of the evidence reviews suggest that provision of SRE led to increased levels of sexual activity.

Learning and Skills Council: Reorganisation

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which of the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC's) centrally-funded functions will be undertaken by  (a) local authorities and  (b) other institutions when the LSC is dissolved.

Si�n Simon: I have been asked to reply.
	The White Paper Raising Expectations: enabling the system to deliver, set out proposals to replace the Learning and Skills Council with two new systems. Responsibility for 16-19 funding will transfer to local authorities, supported by a new Young People's Learning Agency. For adults we propose to build on the demand led approach, including through the creation of a new Skills Funding Agency and strengthened advice and support services for adults and employers.
	In response to the consultation on the White Paper we are developing the business models for the delivery of 14-19 and adult skills. This work is determining the functions which will be carried out by local authorities and other organisations, and will enable both Departments to work with partners to develop the appropriate transition plans.
	The LSC will continue to be responsible for securing the effective delivery of post-16 learning until the new arrangements are in place.

Learning and Skills Improvement Service

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department is providing to the Learning and Skills Improvement Service in 2008-09.

Jim Knight: In 2008-09 this Department is providing 45.42 million in specific grants to the Learning and Skills Improvement Service.

Schools: Admissions

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will instigate an investigation into the compliance of North Yorkshire county council's policy on admissions to Harrogate schools with the School Admissions Code.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to the Schools Adjudicator in March 2008 requesting that he report on compliance for admissions in September 2009. The Schools Adjudicator examined a large sample of schools across all 150 local authorities as well as a further 300 foundation and voluntary-aided schools. He identified breaches of the code in more than half of the foundation and voluntary-aided schools, half of which were clear breaches. The Schools Adjudicator has since worked with the schools and has confirmed that the necessary action has been taken to ensure compliance with the code for the 2009 admissions round.

Schools: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how much and what proportion of the school development grant has been spent on special educational needs in each year since 2004; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the school development grant in improving standards in schools; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of schools are in receipt of funding from the school development grant in 2008-09; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what conditions are placed on the use of school development grant funding; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Local authority Section 52 Budget Statements indicate that, of the 21,704 maintained schools open for all of financial year 2008-09, 21,702 (99.99 per cent.) receive school development grant (SDG). All 131 academies receive equivalent funding to SDG. Schools are free to spend SDG on any purpose to support improvements in teaching and learning in schools, leading to higher standards of attainment for every learner. This can include expenditure on improving teaching and learning for pupils with special educational needs. We do not collect centrally details of how schools spend their SDG, as the Government aim to keep reporting requirements on schools to a minimum. Standards in schools are not assessed against particular funding streams, so no particular assessment has been made of the effectiveness of school development grant. Standards in schools are assessed through Ofsted inspections and information on pupil attainment.

Schools: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what conditions are placed on the use of school standards grant funding; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: School standards grant may be spent by a school for the purposes of the school; for the educational benefit of pupils registered at that school, or for the benefit of pupils registered at other maintained schools; and on community facilities in support of extended services, provided under Section 27 of the Education Act 2002.

Schools: Inspections

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of  (a) the effectiveness of school inspection arrangements in England and Wales and  (b) the potential effect of such arrangements on headteacher recruitment.

Jim Knight: holding answer 11 November 2008
	The Department regularly discusses the effectiveness of school inspection arrangements with Ofsted. New school inspection arrangements are planned from autumn 2009 which include increased proportionality and greater involvement of head teachers and senior leaders.
	Ofsted invites all schools to complete a post inspection survey. 94 per cent. of head teachers who responded during 2007-08 were satisfied with the way their inspection was carried out and 82 per cent. believed the benefits of inspection outweigh the negatives. In 2007, the National Foundation for Education Research published Impact of Section 5 inspectionsMaintained Schools in England. The study, which involved over 1,500 schools, showed that most schools strongly valued and supported the inspection process. The head teacher vacancy rate remains low and stable.
	Matters concerning inspection arrangements in Wales are the responsibility of the Welsh Assembly Government and Estyn.

Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many representations his Department has received on changes to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal in the last six months.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) became part of the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber of the new First-tier Tribunal on November 3. The Department's correspondence handling system shows that 103 letters have been answered by Ministers since May in the lead- up to this change and six have been answered by officials. No delegations have so far come to the Department about this issue. The Ministry of Justice, of which the Tribunals Service is an Executive agency, have also received representations.

Special Educational Needs: Hearing Impaired

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made in narrowing the gap in educational attainment between deaf children and their hearing peers; and what steps he plans to take to further narrow the gap.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: We have been looking at the data on attainment gaps between hearing impaired children and their peers with the National Deaf Children's Society, in the context of our public service agreement target to narrow attainment gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. Our national strategies advisers are looking with local authorities at the proportions of children who are achieving less than levels expected for their age at Key Stages 2 and 4, and at the actions being taken to reduce those proportions over time. We have commissioned research from the National Children's Bureau and the Thomas Coram Research Centre to establish why there are such wide variations between authorities on the identification and classification of children with all types of SEN but using deaf/hearing children and autism spectrum disorders as exemplars.
	To help narrow outcome gaps between children with SEN and disabilities (including children whose hearing is impaired) and their peers, we committed 18 million in the Children's Plan to: improving work force knowledge, skills and understanding of SEN and disability through better initial teacher training and continuing professional development; developing better data for schools on how well children are progressing, and guidance for schools on what constitutes good progress; and continuing to strengthen the position of SEN co-ordinators in schools. The Training and Development Agency is currently consulting on proposals for nationally accredited training courses for new SEN co-ordinators.
	We have also committing to funding, from September 2009, additional places on courses leading to approved mandatory qualifications (MQ) for teaching children and young people with sensory impairments. The TDA has been working with interested parties to establish arrangements for making best use of the funding we are making available.
	In addition, we have committed 800,000 for a pilot project to raise awareness of British Sign Language and upskill the current specialist work force.

Specialist Schools

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent estimate is of the number of maintained secondary schools which are entitled to but have not yet become specialist schools; and what his most recent estimate is of the annual cost of increasing the funding of these schools to the average level of schools granted specialist status.

Jim Knight: There are currently 234 maintained secondary schools which are not specialist and which are eligible to apply to join the specialist schools programme. Should they all join the programme, the extra revenue cost would be around 21.1 million.

Teachers: Labour Turnover

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of teachers who left their employment with between two and five years experience in  (a) 2005,  (b) 2006,  (c) 2007 and  (d) 2008 to date.

Jim Knight: The information requested is only partially available and is currently being collated. I will write to the hon. Member with the information and place a copy of my reply in the Library.

Teachers: Labour Turnover

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of teachers who received golden hellos in each year since their introduction have since left the profession.

Jim Knight: The requested information could be produced only at a disproportionate cost.

Teachers: Pensions

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many individuals belong to the  (a) old and  (b) new teachers' pension scheme.

Jim Knight: All new entrants to the Teachers' Pension Scheme since 1 January 2007 accrue service with a normal pension age of 65. Based on annual service returns up to 31 March 2008, there are approximately 29,000 such active members and approximately 620,000 members accruing service with a normal pension age of 60.

Teachers: Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of active members in the teachers' pension scheme joined on or after 1 January 2007; and what projections he has made of changes to this figure over time.

Jim Knight: Active members of the teachers' pension scheme joining on or after 1 January 2007 accrue service with a normal pension age of 65. Based on data collected as at 31 March 2008, there were approximately 29,000 (4.5 per cent.) such active members. No projections have been made of the changes over time to the proportion of active members who joined on or after 1 January 2007. Projections of how the proportion of members who join after April 2006 would increase over time were made in the context of the Public Services Forum agreement in October 2005. I refer the hon. Member to the answer the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury gave to the hon. Member for Havant (Mr. Willetts) on 8 November 2005,  Official Report, column 330W, which indicated the staff turnover assumed across the pension schemes for teachers, the NHS and civil servants.

Teachers: Training

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how much has been spent on  (a) primary and  (b) secondary (i) Bachelor of Education, (ii) other undergraduate, (iii) post- graduate certificate of education, (iv) graduate teacher programme and (v) other postgraduate teacher training in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how much funding has been provided to initial teacher training providers for  (a) undergraduate and  (b) postgraduate primary teacher training in (i) full-time and (ii) flexible or part-time (A) higher education courses for standard training and (B) non-higher education courses in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The figures contained in the following table show the amounts the Training and Development Agency for Schools has paid to teacher training providers by type and level of initial teacher training for academic years 2004-05 to 2008-09. The breakdown of funding between Bachelor of Education and other undergraduate courses is not available.
	
		
			   
			   2008-09  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05 
			  Provider-based (HEI and SCITT) initial teacher training full-time  
			 Primary  
			 Undergraduate 92,160,960 90,824,351 88,889,937 82,222,334 78,013,849 
			 Postgraduate 45,138,610 43,418,306 42,210,037 41,170,564 40,617,229 
			   
			 Secondary  
			 Undergraduate 19,020,000 19,089,089 18,744,620 17,604,296 17,304,732 
			 Postgraduate 87,025,580 84,351,053 82,435,486 80,582,583 76,765,431 
			   
			  Provider-based (HEI and SCITT) initial teacher training flexible/part-time  
			 Primary  
			 Undergraduate 515,250 442,196 469,745 464,814 425,733 
			 Postgraduate 10,088,970 7,885,909 8,670,036 8,470,079 8,276,647 
			   
			 Secondary  
			 Undergraduate 73,975 48,662 41,305 40,774 22,014 
			 Postgraduate 6,764,640 6,891,887 7,433,962 8,542,020 9,245,334 
			   
			  Employment-based initial teacher training  
			 Graduate Teacher Programme  
			 Primary Graduate Teacher Programme (postgraduate) 8,301,980 7,124,540 7,514,310 n/a n/a 
			 Secondary Graduate Teacher Programme (postgraduate) 15,711,330 15,190,230 14,471,290 n/a n/a 
			 Total Graduate Teacher Programme (postgraduate) 24,013,310 22,314,770 21,985,600 23,792,690 24,051,340 
			   
			 Other employment based Programmes  
			 Teach First (postgraduate) 4,530,000 4,250,000 1,790,485 1,500,000 n/a 
			 Overseas Trained Teacher Programme (postgraduate) 1,701,200 1,450,750 2,205,660 2,343,230 n/a 
			 Registered Teacher Programme (undergraduate) 1,875,280 1,992,900 1,927,200 2,030,000 n/a 
			 n/a = not available  Notes: 1. The figures in the table represent payments made to teacher training providers and do not include payments to trainees. 2. For provider-based (HEI and SCITT) initial teacher training the figures include mainstream funding but not training bursaries. 3. For employment-based initial teacher training the figures include training and assessment grants but not salary grants. 4. In 2004-05 funding for the Registered Teacher Programme and the Overseas Trained Teacher Programme operated on a claim-based approach and equivalent figures to those given from 2005-06 are not available.  Source: Training and Development Agency for Schools

Teachers: Training

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many initial teacher training providers over-recruited for  (a) mathematics,  (b) science,  (c) other secondary priority subjects,  (d) non-priority secondary subjects and  (e) primary teacher training places in each of the last five years; and what the level of over-recruitment was in each case.

Jim Knight: The requested information is given in the following table.
	These figures exclude employment based routes initial teacher training (EBITT) courses. Prior to 2008-09 the Department did not set targets for EBITT, although recruitment data for EBITT courses was still taken into account in projecting the future required numbers of recruits and successful completers on each type of programme and by subject to assist in determining the targets required for mainstream ITT targets.
	
		
			  Mainstream initial teacher training (ITT): Places and recruitment by ITT specialism 2003-04 to 2007-08: England 
			Mainstream providers where recruitment exceeds allocation by one or more place 
			   All Mainstream ITT ProvidersTotal over-recruitment 
			   Total number of mainstream providers offering the course  Mainstream providers where recruitment exceeds allocation by one or more place  Number of allocated places  Number recruited to TT courses  Number of places exceeding allocation  Average number of places in each provider exceeding allocation 
			  (a) Mathematics   
			 2003-04 74 15 410 460 50 * 
			 2004-05 78 9 260 290 20 * 
			 2005-06 82 11 290 320 30 * 
			 2006-07 82 12 330 360 30 * 
			 2007-08 84 6 230 280 50 10 
			
			  (b) Science   
			 2003-04 77 15 750 820 70 * 
			 2004-05 80 13 530 580 50 * 
			 2005-06 83 12 460 490 40 * 
			 2006-07 84 18 770 830 60 * 
			 2007-08 84 15 760 830 80 10 
			
			  (c) Other secondary priority subjects   
			 2003-04 88 13 2,650 2,790 150 10 
			 2004-05 91 9 1,810 1,880 60 10 
			 2005-06 93 5 640 690 50 10 
			 2006-07 97 7 1,550 1,600 50 10 
			 2007-08 97 9 1,030 1,080 60 10 
			
			  (d) Non-priority secondary subjects   
			 2003-04 85 19 2,020 2,130 100 10 
			 2004-05 88 25 2,330 2,490 160 10 
			 2005-06 91 31 2,730 2,910 180 10 
			 2006-07 83 38 2,330 2,540 210 10 
			 2007-08 83 44 2,270 2,520 250 10 
			
			  (e) Primary   
			 2003-04 85 48 11,350 11,840 490 10 
			 2004-05 90 34 9,250 9,670 410 10 
			 2005-06 88 46 11,390 11,950 560 10 
			 2006-07 89 38 9,410 9,750 340 10 
			 2007-08 88 43 9,570 9,970 400 10 
			 * less than 5.  Notes: 1. Mainstream includes universities and other higher education institutions, SCITT and OU, but excludes employment based routes. 2. Other secondary priority subjects includes: English; Maths; Science; ICT; Design and Technology; Technology; Modern Languages; Music (from September 2006); Religious Education (from September 2006) and Business Studies. Note that Business Studies is not a priority subject but is included here because the departmental target for Technology includes Design and Technology, ICT and Business Studies and cannot be split into the component parts. 3. Non-priority secondary subjects includes: Geography, History; Art; Design; physical Education; applied Science; Applied ICT; Manufacturing; Engineering; health and Social Care; Applied Business; Leisure and Tourism; VocationalRecreation, Sport and Leisure Studies; Applied Art and Design; Music (up to September 2006) and Religious Education (up to September 2006). Excludes Business Studiessee note 2. 4. Allocation and recruitment numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. 
		
	
	Targets set by the Department are at sector (not provider) level. Providers recruit to an allocation based on a bidding process. Providers are encouraged to set aspirational and challenging targets. The sum of the allocation targets may not be the same as sector level departmental targets.

Teachers: Training

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of newly-qualified teachers acquired qualified teacher status through training on the graduate teacher programme in each year since 2005.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the number and percentage of trainees who successfully completed the graduate teacher programme in each year from 2004-05 to 2006-07, the most recent year for which data are available.
	
		
			  Teachers gaining qualified teacher status: Qualification via the graduate teacher programme 2004-05 to 2006-07, England 
			O f which :  trainees successfully completing the Graduate Teacher Programme 
			   Number of teachers gaining qualified teacher status  Number  Percentage 
			 2004-05 33,750 5,090 15.1 
			 2005-06 33,100 4,600 13.9 
			 2006-07 34,090 5,140 15.1 
			  Notes: 1. Percentages are based on the total number of teachers gaining qualified teacher status in that year. This includes universities and other higher education institutions, SCITT and Open University as well as employment based routes and cases where QTS is granted on assessment-based training. 2. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: TDA Performance Profiles

Teachers: Training

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of students following a primary teaching postgraduate mainstream course receive a 4,000 bursary; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Training bursaries are payable to eligible trainees on mainstream postgraduate courses of initial teacher training. In 2007-08 there were 8,640 first year postgraduates on mainstream primary courses eligible for the primary bursary.
	In principle, almost all trainees are eligible for a training bursary. To be eligible for a training bursary, a trainee must be a home or EU trainee on a TDA funded course and be eligible for student support. The full eligibility criteria for a bursary are set out in the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Funding manual, available at:
	www.tda.gov.uk/ittfunding

Teachers: Vacancies

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many full-time teacher vacancies there are in Cornwall.

Jim Knight: Full-time teacher vacancy numbers in local authority maintained schools by local authority area are given in the following statistical release:
	School Workforce in England (including Local Authority level figures), January 2008 (Revised)
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000813/SFR262008_Tables_LA20081021.xls
	(table 21).